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I would rather have a non-wrestling fan just translate what the Japanese commentators say. Striker is horrible. Kelly is too. I mean, when we're comparing the shit at the bottom of the barrel, does it matter what pecking order they're in? Cole, Striker, Kelly, Corino, Tenay, Saxton, Lawler, Graves, etc. None of them are any good.

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I can't fault anyone for at least assuming that Corino would be a decent color commentator. The guy comes across as really enthusiastic and entertaining in conversation. I've always enjoyed him on podcasts and in interview form.

 

But that just doesn't translate to his announcing. At some point, it should've been recognized and rectified by now.

 

Striker's redeemed himself enough with me. I won't hold the atrocious AAA show against him. He's been a lot of fun as the super fan who occasionally marks out (bro) in Lucha Underground. And, unlike some, I didn't really find anything awful in his job with New Japan and JR last year. Call me crazy, but I've heard MUCH worse in the past year.

 

Ultimately, I don't mind calling Striker a "good" commentator. Not great, but good. He can hit key points, fill in blind spots for unfamiliar fans, rattle off names left and right (to a fault at times), and provide historical context. He covers the bases well. One thing I don't mind giving him points for is his enthusiasm and excitement at ringside. I realize some people enjoy bashing him for that stuff, but nah. Not my thing.

 

I'd much rather have a guide that gets genuinely invested and excited about what's going on than one who just hits the basic notes, recites information, and moves on. Striker's far from the first or finest choice, but when you consider who's out there and openly available - he isn't far off. I don't think I'd ever care for a pairing of him with Kelly though, which is why this decision just sounds so absurd.

 

Now Striker with Ranallo or Striker with JR again? Sure. I think it'd offer a better balance. There's just no appeal in the Striker and Kelly combo though.

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I thought it was a very meh show. Okada/AJ I thought was maybe the worst of their matches, though everyone else is going nuts for it and their matches do tend to grow on me on rewatch so I might be out to lunch on that one.

 

Tanahashi/Naito was underwhelming. This gimmick is such an improvement for Naito, but I'm not sure he's really figured out how to work it in a way that produces entertaining matches yet. The angle was very fun though.

 

Neither of the junior title matches did anything for me. I would rather have seen reDragon/RPG Vice work a spotfest sprint because I don't get the impression either team can work a regular match in a way that is particularly compelling. The heat segment was zzzz. As for the singles title match, Kenny Omega in this gimmick is absolutely wretched. Sydal did some cool moves. Crowd was DEAD for both matches. The constant gaijin vs. gaijin matches are killing interest in the division. Makes the decision to take the belt off KUSHIDA even more puzzling.

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I really agree about how the juniors (and both tag divisions) have been so oversaturated by non-natives in the last couple of years. I looked it up a few weeks ago; just for 2015, there's been nine teams to challenge for either tag title. Six all-gaijin, one mixed, and two all-native. Zero all-native matches since those two teams were Goto/Shibata & TenKoji. Two years for the HWs (Iizuka/Yano-TenKoji), three years for the juniors (Taichi/TAKA-Liger/TM).

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Gedo has done well by the company for a few years, but it feels like all his faults as a booker were on display on that show - repetition of matchups, minimal attention paid to Juniors and tag division, overuse of foreigners, etc.

 

Was the first time an IWGP Heavyweight title match didn't sell out since the disastrous AJ vs. Okada Yokohama show last year too. Korakuen attendance has been down also. Will be interesting to see how this trend develops from here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

People should check out the Taiwan show on NJPW World. The ran a skeleton crew so we got no 6 man tags, and 2 jr singles matches that delivered. It felt fresh for a change. The Jay White/Taguchi match was really great in the 3 3/4* range. White's selling of his hammy was incredible. Kushida/Finley was pretty great too at 3 1/2*. If you don't put selling at a premium I can see people preferring this match. Their were also other good matches on this show.

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