NJPW World

[The King Of Swing]

Outside of her first match back Kairi's Stardom run has been a massive letdown for me and has been the worst case of no jobs allowed since Toni Storm bored me to tears in Stardom when she was NXT UK Women's champion.

Hopefully that changes going forward but I'm half expecting Kairi to end Saya's epic reigh with the white belt. 

Anyway I dipped back into New Japan recently and I didn’t recognise Kenta for a few seconds with his lovely new hair.

Handsome bastard. 

[gmoney]

I thought Kari/Mone was really good. A lot of fun. 

[The King Of Swing]

Yeah it was a good match, not a fan of Mercedes finisher though.

Her Hana Kimura inspired gear was a nice touch.

[air_raid]

On 2/19/2023 at 8:28 PM, The King Of Swing said:

Yeah it was a good match, not a fan of Mercedes finisher though.

Moné Maker? Come on, that’s good stuff!

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Does anyone know why Battle In The Valley is a separate PPV to NJPW World? Seems very strange that I can use NJPW World to watch Wrestle Kingdom, but this show is asking for $30 or so on top of that.

Tried watch wrestling but NJPW copyright swooped on that. Almost got through the main event on YouTube as it was uploaded in parts, but NJPW copyright just beat me on that, was up to the final part when it got blocked.

[Tsurutagun]

17 minutes ago, Shane O' Mac Version 2 said:

Does anyone know why Battle In The Valley is a separate PPV to NJPW World? .

To get more money out of you

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Haha fair. I guess what I mean is that it's confusing that it's not included while Wrestle Kingdom is. If anything, you'd think the extra should be ponied up for WK, right?

It's like the WWE Network including WrestleMania in the subscription and making you pay extra for Elimination Chamber.

[JNLister]

Going forward, all New Japan's events in the US will be live PPVs. The matches will then be shown over the next few weeks as episodes of the weekly NJPW Strong show, which is on NJPW World. (NJPW Strong isn't getting dedicated tapings any more.)

[Cheapheat]

So was anyone else disappointed by the Jay White story Arc? A year ago after his match with Ibushi he seemed so hot, and over 2022 he seemed to become less important. Kingston being the guy to boot him from NJPW seems pretty out of left field. It seems to me that Bullet Club is a meandering mess of a  story that's mostly fantasy booked by western fans but in reality is either impossible to follow or just not there. Could anyone acurractly summerize Jay's story in NJPW? 

[El Hijo del Mikey Jr]

So... thoughts?

[Fatty Facesitter]

10 minutes ago, El Hijo del Mikey Jr said:

So... thoughts?

It's a forum and a message board, mate - usually people tend to post their own thoughts and then discussion usually comes from that 

[TildeGuy~!]

Well Sanada looks great with his new look and he’s some how even more handsome then before, The Most Handsome Man In Professional Wrestling, the bastard.

The triple threat for the women’s title was tons of fun too, probably my favourite match on the card, AZM was really the star of it.

[westlondonmist]

52 minutes ago, El Hijo del Mikey Jr said:

So... thoughts?

 

Spoiler

I think Sanada won't be champion for long. New Japan seem to like a certain style and length main event which doesn't suit Sanada. He seems more competent in a fast flowing 20 minute match. 

 

[The King Of Swing]

Women's match was fine if a little too heavy on the double spots. Honestly would have preferred Mercedes Vs. Hazuki or AZM in a 15 minutes singles match.

Mercedes Vs. Mayu should be an absolute cracker. 

[El Hijo del Mikey Jr]

I only had time to see the main event so far but it was well-worked.  Good structure, well sold in commentary.  It all very much worked because they have a guy who is over, who feels fresh and feels hot.  Too often they'll whiff on it or push somebody who isn't hot or somebody who missed his window. I thought it was a total Okada squash but then Sanada came back and beat him clean.

However, I've learned my lesson in the past.  This isn't about Sanada, it's about Okada.  He's the protagonist and this is a speed bump in his road.