funkdoc Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 I think all the possible main event matches with him would intriguing. Tanahashi/Morishima at Fukokua Dome in early May would be one of the few dream matches left from 00s Puroresu. i think the problem there is that 2000s puro was the dark days, so it might not be something people want to remember. then again, sting/shawn/bret were the embodiment of the dark days in america and they all got various nostalgia runs, so who knows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Yeah, I honestly don't see Tana vs. Morshima being looked at as a dream match at this point. Most fans, at least in the US that regulary watch Japanese footage, would probably see Makabe vs. Tana as bigger. Morishima right now is not all world but just in the January footage, he has found his place and footing more and it seems like some of the pressure of him to be the guy is off and he is able to just be a big, bulky monster in the ring that now has a protege. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stomperspc Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 The Akito vs. Makoto Oishi no rope escape match from the 01/25 DDT show that just surfaced is one of my top 10 matches of the year so far. They did a lot of fun stuff with the gimmick and it had a great finish. They did take great advantage of the rules. Easy to just do submissions in the ropes and call it a day, but they put a lot more thought into it than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 I'm never disappointed with a DDT show. Even when the matches aren't great I always enjoy myself a lot. The belt winning itself in April was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted February 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 Just heard that Genichiro Tenryu is rumored to be announcing his retirement! I actually didn't think he was that old (65). Definitely one of my all time Puro faves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 That's a little older than I thought he was. I knew he was at least in his mid 40s during his last IWGP Title run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 I've enjoyed NOAH this year and it does feel like something special is going on there, but not in the big picture sense. From my perspective NOAH is basically a Japanese Lucha Underground at this point - a promotion with entertaining shows, featuring a lot of interchangeable talent, that has a different feel from other places so it stands out even if I'm not sure it's much better than a lot of places that get hit a lot harder by critics. Also like LU, I'm not sure it can get much bigger than it already is, though unlike LU I do feel like the Suzuki-gun v. NOAH feud could lead to something that at least feels bigger in scope than the norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 When in your opinion did the shows get better. I check out the cards from time to time and nothing grabs me. I can always use something for a rainy day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Wrestle Ones latest show had a really fun undercard, though the two main events were poor. Still I think Funaki and Kai are having good years, and W-1 is really doing a good job booking entertaining sprints like Tanaka v Inaba that play to everyone's strengths. I would strongly advise people watch the top 3 matches on the latest NOAH show. Suzuki and Taka do great jobs with NOAH aces who refuse to/don't know how to sell, and the tag main event is really good. The best KES match I've ever seen by far, and something I could see on some MOTY lists. Yesterday's DDT show got good reviews a couple of places and is almost completely up on dailymotion. They claimed 6500 paid which if true might give them a compelling argument for being the true number 2 in Japan. The double main event of that show looks really good on paper, hoping to get to it tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 The latest AJPW show from Korakuen was pretty strong. I enjoyed all of the top 3 matches. I thought Aoki/Suzuki was really good in spite of Suzuki's refusal to deviate from his signature spots to put over the limb work, which unfortunately seems to be the MO of many Japanese wrestlers these days. Thankfully he worked mostly from underneath so it wasn't as annoying as it could have been, though it certainly prevented any chance of it being a MOTYC which I think it may have approached otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Someone has posted some video of a recent NOAH show. It looks like they're running the show in a warehouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stomperspc Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 Someone has posted some video of a recent NOAH show. It looks like they're running the show in a warehouse. To be fair, it was a Cho Kibou-gun (Morishima's stable) produce show so it was probably lower budget than normal but yea, NOAH runs some odd looking venues these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Minoru Suzuki defeated Naomichi Marufuji to raise the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Given the fact that Suzuki has been in contention for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship previously, and could be again, it's certainly a possibility that he may become one of three men to have held all three of Japan's top heavyweight titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 Suzuki's GHC title defense against Maybach Taniguchi was really good. I guess a lot of people would be shocked that Taniguchi would have a better match with Suzuki than Marufuji did on either attempt, but the guy allowed himself to be carried whereas Marufuji took a proactive role in his matches and since he's the dirt worst that dragged them down. Takayama looked so awful just getting in the ring in the postmatch, so that one's gonna be another challenge for Suzuki. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 The most recent Shiozaki/Miyahara vs. Akiyama/Omori match is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucky Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Thanks for the heads up. Their match last December was my MOTY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxnj Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 I saw that live and I agree that it was great. In fact, that was exactly the match I had in mind when I wrote in GWE thread about how grateful I am that Akiyama's body has held up well enough over the years to keep giving us those classic AJPW style tags. The stretch run between Akiyama and Shiozaki was awesome, and I loved the near fall for the wrist clutch exploder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InYourCase Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Dylan brought it up on the first page, but in terms of popularity, Dragon Gate is #2 behind New Japan. They pack Korakuen every month (to a point where it becomes a safety hazard). They have five big PPV's every year, one of which just drew 5,000 in Tokyo on the same night as the G1 Finals. I'd put them ahead of DDT, who is comfortably ahead of NOAH, All Japan, and W-1. In terms of star power, CIMA is starting to take a backseat to Masato Yoshino, YAMATO, Shingo Takagi, etc. I think Dragon Gate is also the best booked company in the world, fwiw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stomperspc Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 I enjoyed the tag title match. The story and general layout were really good, plus I liked the way they built off the captain's fall match from a couple weeks prior. Specifically, Go's general revenge approach to the match and Akiyama/Omori using the strategy of trying to put one opponent away on the outside since that worked well with getting rid of Miyahara in the six-man. The way Akiyama progressively sold Go's chops more and more leading to the finish was really well done. Akiyama overall had a really strong match. Offensively, everyone was fine (Go) or good (the other three). I had two minor complaints which has this below MOTY-level for me on first view. The first is that Go is just not all that compelling. He wrestles with so little emotion and his offense is borderline bad. This match was sort of focused around him and he did very little to pull me in (although he did really lay the chops in hard). The second issue I had was too many pin attempts down the stretch. It was not an issue of kicking out of too many big moves or killing finishers. It was more that they did what seemed like a dozen plus pin attempts in the last few minutes to the point of it being too much. They would hit some mid-level or higher level moves for pin attempts, then another mid-level move (or lower) and I couldn't buy those follow up moves as near falls. There was diminishing returns to the pin attempts by a certain point. Still a good match though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillThompson Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 I had it as an easy MotYC. Great build during the match, with each man playing their role splendidly. Firmly entrenched AJPW as my #1 Japanese promotion. Not really a slight against any other promotions, but in terms of match quality, wrestlers, and overall shows I find AJPW far more enjoyable and rewarding than anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 I thought the Kotaro Suzuki/Ultimo Dragon match was pretty damn good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 The AJPW Royal Road final was an absolutely fantastic show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 The AJPW Royal Road final was an absolutely fantastic show. Best matches? Card rundown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stomperspc Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Writing about some recent All Japan matches and reading Bill’s tweets last night (re: current AJPW being a promotion ready to take off) got me thinking about the current state of the promotion. In general, I don’t buy into the idea that they are in the midst of building something special. I think they have been a very watchable promotion since around the time Akiyama was named president (last June). I think the booking has been very logical and easy to follow. You can find sound logic in all the Triple Crown switches the past 16 months. The Go-Akiyama storyline was straight out of Baba’s playbook (right down to the very slow progression) and there are far worse booking philosophies to emulate. Match quality has been okay but nothing special. The roster has one possible future star (Miyahara) but nothing is a sure thing and its usually hard to make a big time star in a promotion with as little star power or popularity as current All Japan has. The roster is old and Miyahara is the only younger guy who has star potential. New Japan rightfully gets criticized for having an aging roster and only one young-ish star (Okada) but All Japan is in worse shape in both regards. Given that, I am not sure how New Japan is on the fall and All Japan is on the rise. It is incredibly difficult for a promotion to catch fire when they are starting from the position that current All Japan is starting from. All Japan has one veteran who might be able to help make a new star (Akiyama) and its not like he is 1990 Jumbo. They have one one potential future star (Miyahara). Whether it is 1990's All Japan or 2010’s New Japan, a promotion tends to get really hot when they are starting from a solid base, have several prime-aged guys get over, have a veteran(s) that can help put the younger guys over, ect. I am not sure All Japan has any of that. Its possible Miyahara catches fire and carries them but how many guys catch fire in a promotion drawing as little as AJPW is now and with only one semi-star to help make him? Not trying to rain on anyone’s parade. I was just surprised to see that some view All Japan has the best promotion in Japan currently and in a position to potentially catch fire. I like them just fine, but am not seeing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 1. Tag Team Match Masanobu Fuchi & Yohei Nakajima vs. Naoya Nomura & Yuma Aoyagi 2.Royal Road Tournament 2015 Semi Final Match Akebono vs. Shuji Ishikawa 3. Royal Road Tournament 2015 Semi Final Match Jun Akiyama vs. Yuji Hino 4. Eight Man Tag Team Match Big Guns (The Bodyguard & Zeus), KENSO & Suwama vs. Xceed (Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara), Takao Omori & Yutaka Yoshie 5. Six Man Tag Team Match Evolution (Atsushi Aoki & Hikaru Sato) & Takeshi Minamino vs. Kotaro Suzuki, Ultimo Dragon & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 6. Royal Road Tournament 2015 Final Match Akebono vs. Jun Akiyama - Every match was good. - Ishikawa/Bono was a great example of how to do a heavyweight slugfest/bomb-throwing match without resorting to no-selling and strike exchange bullshit. - Hino/Akiyama was a match that fully indulged itself in said bullshit but was still awesome because it was worked as a sprint and Akiyama is great. I'm tempted to call it a MOTYC, and the Meltzer/Lanza type fans should go crazy for it. - Both multi-mans were really good, especially the 8 man. All Japan does a much better job of making these matches feel meaningful than NJPW, largely because the work in them is much more interesting. I feel like you can see Akiyama's fingerprints all over the layout of these matches. - Akiyama/Bono was another borderline MOTYC. Very classic big vs. little layout with Akiyama mounting the big comeback. Best matches were all the singles and the 8 man, but at that point you may as well watch the entire show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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