paul sosnowski Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 Three way match for Omega's IWGP Heavyweight Title. Talk about it here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nivvad Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 I completely appreciate the sentiment that was brought with this match. Did it reach the epic levels that I was hoping for? Probably not. Cody being a third wheel made this match very awkward, and you could totally feel it in the once again lukewarm crowd. I really enjoyed the work all three men put in though. Cody brought a more athletic self to the match in order to keep up with Kenny and Ibushi, and the Lovers steadily built the tension to a boiling point of Ibushi snapping on Kenny. Speaking of Kenny, he did a great job in being the more dominant one in the match as was expected of the powerful champ. They got a little over their heads with a few sloppy spots, but the narrative kept things nice and concise. If the crowd had been more into this, I bet this would've been a classic, ****1/2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmartMark15 Posted October 10, 2018 Report Share Posted October 10, 2018 Interesting to see a three-way in the Tokyo setting and it's a mixed bag for this booking experiment. Definite pro is cutting out those typically uneventful opening mat exchanges we usually get and this allows the action to get off to a much hotter start. Being able to swap one guy out for another means there were very few dead spots and the action kept on moving. The melodrama stuff among the three is what it is. Didn't hate it but it does disrupt the momentum of the match occasionally but I'm willing to forgive it. One thing that's noticeable is that either the crowd was not invested too much or they were unsure how to react to the three-way structure. From what I understand, Japanese crowds are far more conditioned to respond to traditional heat segments and transitions. I liked that they went out of their way to have all three guys in the ring for multiple long segments in the match but the best stuff here were the Omega-Ibushi interactions for sure. The crowd really woke up and they were hot for the match up. Another interesting thing of note is that the New Japan prod team has a different approach to covering a three-way match. Where WWE would focus on two of the participants to make the third's return a surprise, New Japan try to get maximum coverage and let us know where every wrestler is at any one time. Kind of kills some of the shock for viewers at home. ****1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted October 10, 2018 Report Share Posted October 10, 2018 So they found some fun and original ways to work a triangle match. Whether worked around laying out one man so the other two could work together, near falls/saves or expanding a wrestler's signature spot to use 3 participants (see Ibushi's lawn dart) there was very much some good here. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of the Omega/Ibushi angle they're working here, whatever it may be. I really liked their G1 match but didn't think it worked in this setting where they weren't necessarily eager to tear into each other, but at the same time were quite eager to prevent the other from winning. We know its not building to WK. Perhaps MSG is a possibility, but that would seem too far removed from the G1 to retain whatever heat and intrigue were in place then. Bottom line -- this was a fine match but would be New Japan's worst main event in some time absent the recent Suzuki/Naito stinker (I didn't find their first outing earlier this year as bad as most). it was way too long with too many shenanigans and "bad Kenny" -- overacting and exaggerated bumping rather than any compelling selling. ***1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted October 24, 2018 Report Share Posted October 24, 2018 Thought this was a really fun spotfest but not one that needed to go 30+. Then again, this is a NJPW main event so I don't know what I was expecting. That being said, it was structured pretty nicely to focus on Kenny and Ibushi's strengths as flashy, athletic workers and covering up Cody's weaknesses. I did like Cody and Ibushi working together if only briefly and Ibushi finally getting fed up and smacking the shit out of Kenny. Thought the wrong guy took the fall here but I get they didn't want the U.S. Champ to take a loss while also tying the score between Kenny and Ibushi. By no means a MOTYC and could have used some time shaving, but still a really fun triple-threat. ****1/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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