Paid Members air_raid Posted August 23, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 23, 2015 I hope they drop the bonus coverage of the shitty B shows altogether so you men stop whining about them.  "the A block final day on 8/14 drew only 5,658 fans, the company’s smallest crowd in the building since October 10, 2010, even with Tanahashi vs. Styles as the main event. The B block finals, with Nakamura vs. Okada, drew 7,557."That's pretty awful for AJ/Tanahashi, but maybe people had figured out it was going to be a bad show? I though it was fucking awful bar the main event, so I guess why would you pay for that with two better nights coming up?  This is it - 3 shows at Korakuen and 3 shows at Ryogoku is saturating the market a bit. The split roster shows in conjunction with 3 nights at Sumo Hall was always a bad idea - trying to draw a "big card" attendance three nights with only half a "big card" on two of them makes no sense. In comparison, in 2013 when they did two nights, with the knowledge that the final will draw by itself, they booked a loaded show the night before with Tana v Okada, Nakamura v Naito, (planned) Goto v Shibata, Ibushi v MiSu and Ishii v Makabe. Compare that to the first two nights in the same building this year, night and day.  So i thought i'd just watch the finals. Pretty good, can't see the logic in the winner though.  The logic is that if Okada retains until Wrestle Kingdom they want to tell the story that Okada has been champion 3 times, won the G1 twice, but he's failed in two attempts to beat Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom and left last year completely broken. He's built himself back up and is "the man" right now, but will he ever really be THE MAN if he doesn't beat Tanahashi at a Wrestle Kingdom?  Yes, it's virtually the same story as WK9, but I'm not sure I mind. The only problem is, it's pointless to run that match with that story if Okada isn't going to go over THIS time and they establish that it's truly his time NOW and Tana walks in HIS shadow, no longer the other way round. Okada losing to Hash again would cripple him. Of course, a result being predictable isn't 100% a bad thing all of the time, but I don't want it for a Wrestle Kingdom main event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingofSports Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 (edited) I still have 3 or 4 days (or specific matches from some of those days) to view. Excluding those for the time-being, I'd say that this year's G1 was OK. Probably more solid than most years, with a few very good matches, but unfortunately, nothing exceptional. I don't recall last year's being particularly good & looking back at my ratings for the 2014 tournie, the figures seem to back that up. Probably have to go back to 2013, 10/8 & particularly the 4/8 show, which had 2 huge matches (Ishii/Shibata & Nakamura/Ibushi) for greatness. As it goes & to put some perspective on it, I've recently rated a lot of 90's/early 2000's ECW-WWF-WCW ppvs & based on many of those, I wouldn't be complaining too much about the standard of New Japan's output, particularly for a long, drawn-out tournament. Edited August 23, 2015 by KingofSports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam O'Rourke Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Curious to know what your read on this is Raid, but I'm no fan of the Bullet Club as an act, and it felt like agony to go with them dominating again the the Spring - think the focus on them has hurt momentum a bit? Sure feels like it to me, combined with with not really having a new story to focus on this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted August 23, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 23, 2015 (edited) Curious to know what your read on this is Raid, but I'm no fan of the Bullet Club as an act, and it felt like agony to go with them dominating again the the Spring - think the focus on them has hurt momentum a bit? Sure feels like it to me, combined with with not really having a new story to focus on this year. Â It's felt a bit like it's run it's course, having successfully completed the "having all the belts" situation a couple of times. There's certainly a lot to complain about with Omega/Ibushi not having gone anywhere and Gallows/Anderson being permitted to get the tag belts back from Goto/Shibata LONG after they were stale, then crud the place up with Kingdom (even though Maria, [hearts]). I enjoyed them in the beginning as heels that actually act like heels was a novelty - Chaos are heroes in comparison. Ishii always fights from underneath with babyface guts, Okada's mad popular and Shinsuke is the coolest motherfucker alive. Honestly right now though, Bullet Club surely are only still presented as dominant because they're selling a fuckton of t-shirts. You only have to come to a BritWres show to see how far-reaching the success of that shirt is. Now I love AJ as much as the next guy (probably more) and the Bucks sure have grown on me, but I don't get how so many people fancy wearing the shirt endorsing their love of Anderson & Gallows, Fat Fuck Fale, Tonga, Yujiro... the group is mostly dross. But it is a cool-looking shirt, so maybe that's it. Â They really need something to either derail Bullet Club or give them a new direction because it DOES feel like they're going round in circles. They should have done so much more with the Chaos rivalry. All the fuckers that interfered for AJ in both the matches where he won the title from and lost it back to Okada - Chaos are the dumbest faction ever for not countering Bullet Club interference with interference of their own in these massive matches. I'd love to see Chaos finally decide they seriously want New Japan shot of the Club because THEY are meant to be the bosses. Get the tag belts off Anderson (whose career trajectory since his G1 final in 2012 makes me cry) and Gallows for a start *, then build to the first Styles v Nakamura match. There's something Bullet Club related I could at least look forward to. Â * Fuck it, get the tab belts on Ishii & Saku then feud them with Goto & Shibata for a month or two. Beast & shooter vs beast & shooter. Edited August 23, 2015 by air_raid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingofSports Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 (edited) Loving the match rating talk above-we are obviously not alone in these thoughts!  From the latest Ovserver: "Nakamura missing his bout with Michael Elgin with his elbow injury, and when he came back, he didn’t miss a beat."  Didn't miss a beat? Is there another Nakamura knocking about tht I haven't seen? Other than perhaps the final, I would say several beats were missed by old YEAOH. I'm a huge fan & have been for years. His body of work already puts him in the legend category. That said, I've had issues with some of his matches/performances over the past couple of years. One, I brought up elsewhere some time back & that was selling & more specifically over-selling...screaming 'in pain' on an increasingly regular & unconvincing basis. Just not necessary. Sure, you can sell & put your opponent over, but there's no need to go overboard with it. As far as I can remember, the old Shinsuke didn't do that. Not a big fan of the current, gesturing & general flashiness either. It was fine a couple of years back as a new gimmick, but it's a bit old now and whereas his moves once seemed (and still can) unplanned, fluid and convincing, some of his more recent matches have become rather spotty & predictable. Also too many Bomaye's. It's a cracking finisher, but more than 1 or 2 per match jut kills it + it shouldn't need to feature in every match. Don't end up like Mutoh & his fucking shining wizards, which at last count were upto about 15 per match. I'd like a return to the 2008 Nakamura. Less flash, more zen. Edited October 11, 2015 by KingofSports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam O'Rourke Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 (edited) Yeah, I'm not even the biggest Anderson fan, but his G1 Final and following match at King Of Pro Wrestling with Okada were so good, and the Bullet Club has kind of iced him. Â It's a cool shirt, but I'm utterly convinced all these people wearing them rarely watch New Japan and see the effect they have on the shows, because they just feel like a fucking albatross. And I love AJ, he's the exception. Â New Japan is hitting elements of frustration by keeping Shinsuke out of the tippy top mix, even if I completely understand Tanahashi headlining again, and the apparent Nakamura Vs. AJ match being mouth-watering. If they go back to the Bullet Club after WrestleKingdom 10 I'll be ready fire a few rounds at my TV myself. Its doubly annoying how much of a priority they are with the scrubs you mention like Fale, Yujiro and Gallows getting so much play, when Ishii, Honma and Shibata are spinning their wheels. Â Dig your tag team titles idea too, might bring a little something back to the division which has been struggling for years now. Edited August 23, 2015 by Liam O'Rourke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Karl Anderson should be alright post-Bullet Club. His entrance is that good that he should really be sticking around, and the crowds there seem to really like him too. I think only the most ardent Bullet Club fans only really care for AJ, him and the Bucks. It's the guys who just come out to the normal BC music that come off as dead weight  tbf, Bullet Club could still be relatively fresh today if they weren't represented on every card 4 or 5 times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingofSports Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 (edited) Bullet Club mostly consists of shitarses. Devitt was a huge loss & although AJ could have adopted a similar role, the problem there was that the guy's properly over, not to the same degree as NJ's top homegrown talent, but enough for the fans not too care too much about his heelish ways. So, how do you solve the problem of a crap heel stable, lead by a guy that's essentially a babyface? Disband or a total re-think. The licenced outlet for NJPW shirts in the U.S must be making a mint from Bullet Club tees. Shit, they've even had free, in-ring advertising. It's understandable to some degree, but at the same time it stinks a bit too. Just a bunch of gaijin making cash with little respect for the company or product. Half of BC's 'ring-worn' gear (and there's been enough of it) ends up at Toudoukan, selling for silly money. Bit too much of a gravy train at the moment. Edited October 7, 2015 by KingofSports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Looking for some help on a quick question. I'm off to Tokyo with some friends on Friday and have planned to catch the Kings of Pro Wrestling show on Sunday. From online research it looks like I'll be ok to pick tickets up at the door of the Sumo arena on the day of the show, or they can be picked up at 7/11's in Tokyo. Has anyone here done either of those things or knows of another way? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted October 7, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted October 7, 2015 Buying from a 7/11 involves being able to figure out how to use the machines. Personally I'd get the train to Suidobashi, make the short walk from Dome City to the New Japan shop and buy them from a human being. And I'd get them the day you arrive rather than just rocking up at Ryogoku on the day, just in case. You don't want to be let down. I was near suicidal when I thought we were going to miss out on our G1 Finals tickets in 2013 because we left it last minute. Thankfully we're mates with one of those "sponsor" types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300 Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Cheers air raid. We arrive on Saturday morning. Maybe a good idea would be to head down to the Sumo arena on Saturday to buy the tickets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harlow2 Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 New Japan Pro Wrestling is now advertising that their upcoming King of Pro Wrestling PPV on October 12th will be broadcast with English commentary. Little information is known other than a graphic promoting "live coverage in English", and we are still awaiting an official announcement regarding who the announce team might be  any news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted October 8, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted October 8, 2015 Ooo. I picked up a couple of those 'Free month of NJPW World' codes at the RevPro/NJPW shows this past weekend - may have to use one for this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Mask V Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 New Japan Pro Wrestling is now advertising that their upcoming King of Pro Wrestling PPV on October 12th will be broadcast with English commentary. Little information is known other than a graphic promoting "live coverage in English", and we are still awaiting an official announcement regarding who the announce team might be  any news  Hopefully JR will be involved, himself and Matt Striker definitely brought a new element into WK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Apparently it will be Kevin Kelly & Striker. which sounds like a bit of a nightmare team tbh with Striker endlessly breaking kayfabe and Kelly's long pauses while he scans his notes during key moments of action, but still interesting to hear on a NJPW show I guess. Though I think I'll stick to commentators I don't know what they're saying - far less irritating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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