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Sphinx

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After the last 12 months with White it's "shit or get off the pot." He's improved a lot, especially when it comes to presence. I think he'll be the one to relieve Naito of the I belt when they finally decide it's time for the latter to be around the big belt picture again, and success or failure in that spot will determine if he's considered for winning the big belt in 2020.

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1 hour ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I like that someone’s gone to the effort of comping in footage of NJPW over a bar during an England World Cup game.... but why over such a benign bit of footage?!

The tights that he's been wearing for a while have been almost universally hated among smart fans (well, western fans at least) from the moment he first adorned them. WK13 marked Okada's return to wearing his old, or "classic" in the eyes of many, gear.

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A few thoughts of the matches I have seen so far...

I dread to think what they will do in the main event when Omega leaves (if he does). They have invested so much time and effort in him over the past two years and it feels that if he leaves it really will dent the company. That said NJPW are genius at building new talent - Styles, Nakamura etc leaving with little hassle for the company. 

On the topic of Omega... He really seemed to be unmotivated at WK13, something just felt off. Tanahashi was his usual brilliant self. I find Omega's 38984 V Triggers per match a little grating at times but that's life. His reign hasn't lit up NJPW and I don't know whether he 'sells' as champion. Maybe someone could tell me?

I don't think the Jericho match was as great as some are saying. Sure he did less and got more response than most people on the show but I need to see more than he is giving at the moment. I do like the gimmick but if he sticks around he needs something less repetitive in terms of booking. Naito needs to head to the main events again and hopefully will have a good G1 as usual. 

Ospreay vs Ibushi was great. They did a lot less than one would expect but some of the facial expressions and moments were genius. Not sure if the concussion is a story line or legit but if its legit then that's just crap. Ibushi for a major push in 2019 if he sticks around. 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Michael_3165 said:

Ibushi for a major push in 2019 if he sticks around. 

Dropping the belt after a month and not appearing at Dash suggests strongly he's heading to Elite with his other half.

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10 minutes ago, air_raid said:

Dropping the belt after a month and not appearing at Dash suggests strongly he's heading to Elite with his other half.

I wouldn't say him not appearing at Dash is any indictator he was going as he suffered a concussion at WK13 so can't imagine he was in any state to appear on the show.

Not that I disagree with you that he is off though, think he'll follow Omega to AEW if indeed that is where Omega ends up

Edited by MVP RULZ
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If Omega leaves with the Bucks, I think he's an idiot . I get the brotherhood with the Bucks but hanging out with them lowers anyone's stock, in my eyes. There's infinitely greater possibilities still for Kenny in Japan, especially with both Golden Lovers dropping belts on the same show. After their big reunion angle last year, but without a solid conclusion, there's a lot more mileage there, even if a lot of the press would still likely focus on the are they aren't they nature of the team (which could be really progressive and heartwarming if done well).

Overall I loved the show. The gulf between the stars and also rans was pretty big, the show really picking up with Sabre Ishii,  which I loved. Some might complain about it not going longer or the quality being lower than previously, but I like that in NJPW's angles (imagined by me or not) of the physical toll of the feuds finally taking hold.

Tana's my boy. I think this'll be his last top run, but I think the commentator's line was telling, about a new era with an old soldier at the helm. I see Tana working with and seasoning the new talent before dropping the belt to a chosen one. But not Jay White. Anyone but that chinless doll.

Naito needs to step up. This Jericho angle and feud was clearly about ditching or at least adding fire to the tranquilo persona. The match did feel like it ended too soon, in that Jericho not taking a sustained and deserved beating from Naito meant things still felt left open. But yeah, Naito needs to run with this and regain his main event status. 

Edited by CavemanLynn
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3 hours ago, CavemanLynn said:

If Omega leaves with the Bucks, I think he's an idiot . I get the brotherhood with the Bucks but hanging out with them lowers anyone's stock, in my eyes. There's infinitely greater possibilities still for Kenny in Japan, especially with both Golden Lovers dropping belts on the same show. After their big reunion angle last year, but without a solid conclusion, there's a lot more mileage there, even if a lot of the press would still likely focus on the are they aren't they nature of the team (which could be really progressive and heartwarming if done well).

 

Kenny's a lot different from most talent in terms of priorities. Making money and his standing/success isnt the biggest factor to him. Much as he loves Japan in general I completely understand jumping in with his great mates for a startup back in North America and the challenge therein seems like a fun next step, especially if (or perhaps only if) Kota is on board.

Re : the Lovers' story... I'm not convinced Japanese wrestling fans (or at least fans of mens wrestling) are ready for the boy/boy romance, however tactfully booked.

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5 hours ago, Michael_3165 said:

On the topic of Omega... He really seemed to be unmotivated at WK13, something just felt off. Tanahashi was his usual brilliant self. I find Omega's 38984 V Triggers per match a little grating at times but that's life. His reign hasn't lit up NJPW and I don't know whether he 'sells' as champion. Maybe someone could tell me?

From a business standpoint, he's done pretty well as a champion. 

His match at Dominion where he won the title drew marginally more than the event did last year (same main event), he was a big factor in drawing nearly 6500 to the Cow Palace, he sold out the Budokan against Ibushi in the fastest selling G1 ticket in history, sold out KoPW and Wrestle Kingdom had about 3000 more tickets sold than last year. Obviously Omega isn't the sole factor, but his run on top drew well in terms of ticket sales. That's just in terms of Japan as well. Factor in his merch sales, the fact he's the face of their western expansion and yeah, he's done a good job.

From a performance perspective, it varies a bit. I saw a post on another forum summarising it really well, in that it feels like New Japan have realised he could well be off, and tried to cram him into every possible storyline without any spacing or breathing room. The Golden Lovers reunion at the beginning of the year had loads of legs in it, but then Gedo realised he didn't have a Dominion main event and needed to tie up the Omega/Okada loose end so he just sort of got shoehorned into that. Then you had to coincide with the Bullet Club split going on, and despite him being a far bigger star than anyone else involved he was still pissing about with the likes of Tama Tonga. It just feels like they had too much going on with him at any given time. All the while it still isn't clear whether we're supposed to be cheering or booing him.

Then once he picks the belt up, there isn't really any direction, so you just end up feeling like you're stalling before Wrestle Kingdom. The Ishii title defence was great, but there was zero drama because he obviously wasn't winning the belt. Then you had them shoving Cody into a triple threat so that they wouldn't blow Kenny/Kota for the belt on a show that isn't Wrestle Kingdom or Dominion. Then he doesn't show up at all during the Tag League tour. Obviously it didn't take away from his match with Tanahashi at the Dome, but it's been a weird year for him. Coming off of his title win at Dominion, he should've been the hottest thing in wrestling, but his momentum has stalled sadly.

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3 minutes ago, AdamTH17 said:

he sold out the Budokan against Ibushi in the fastest selling G1 ticket in history

That's a tricky one to solely attribute to Kenny v Kota. New Japan running Budokan at all would have been a massive "can't miss" by plenty of fans regardless of what card was put on. I was very tempted to spunk away a load of cash to go as soon as it was announced but couldn't justify it the same calendar year as a Kingdom trip.

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Just now, air_raid said:

That's a tricky one to solely attribute to Kenny v Kota. New Japan running Budokan at all would have been a massive "can't miss" by plenty of fans regardless of what card was put on. I was very tempted to spunk away a load of cash to go as soon as it was announced but couldn't justify it the same calendar year as a Kingdom trip.

That's fair. I could easily see it headlining one of the two Dome shows next year alongside Naito/Okada. If any two guys from AEW have the pull to work NJPW events, it's going to be them.

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