Paid Members Nick James Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 I'm not a watcher of NJPW, but this could have been a fantastic opportunity for Takeshita to lead the charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 7 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said: I'm not a big follower but Yota Tsuji looks the business and Umino, Uemura and O-Khan seem like they could be something. Am I wrong in that assessment? 100% agree. Tsuji has that easy charisma about him, if NJPW handle him correctly he could be a massive star for the company. The others, who knows, but Tsuji definitely feels like the biggest prospect they have whenever I've seen him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 It's not easy to spin the loss of your biggest star as a positive, but as the biggest NJ diehard going (I was still at those empty COVID shows dammit) I'm not heart broken over this. The biggest weakness in Okada's game, and in NJ's booking of him, is neither seems to know what to do with him outside of being world champion. He's been the company's "ace" (sorry Tana) for over a decade, that role that Misawa, Hashimoto, 80's Flair, Shane Douglas in ECW (I know....) filled. You don't have to do much creative booking with them, they're just the champ. Ironically he did have a pretty good 2023 outside the main event, battering NOAH's Kaito Kiyomia and having a fun mid-card 6 man tag championship run, but I think the point still stands. While no one was watching, NJ pushed a lot of new talent in 2023. Yota Tsuji is a star, Shooter Umino is the next big Tana style kissing babies, waving glowsticks face of the company, Ren Narita was doing ok but is now in House of Torture, which has admittedly fucked him. And Yuya Uemura has joined that Reiwa Musketeer group. Truth be told, as long as Okada was around, no one was becoming the next face of the company. And NJ are generally pretty good at making new stars, if a little slow at it. As for little Kazu, he "gets" the sports entertainment part of wrestling and he's a brilliant dick heel when he wants to be. However, the transition to weekly TV matches is not easy, as Nakamura (sorry I meant SHIN) found out. And speaking English is a long way from cutting an effective promo in English, that is going to be the hardest part for him. His success will all be down to presentation and for that I think AEW is the better place for him. But Uncle Paul's new regime might be able to pull it off. They've done amazing things with the previously irredeemable SHIN for the last 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 (edited) 2 hours ago, westlondonmist said: Maybe this is the kick up the arse New Japan need. They have relied to heavily on Okada. I think they need to start pushing some of their younger talent. New Japan consistently fall behind getting guys to the next level quickly enough, like there are permanently too many plans already lined up to deviate in spite of a guy being ready. Kenny Omega put in a stunning shift opposite Okada in defeat at Wrestle Kingdom 11, and realistically proved that he deserved to be on that level. They might have pulled the trigger by Dominion but instead did the draw and had Kenny beat Okada in the G1 to get them the 1-1-1 record, then by WK'12 Omega's fucking around with a midcard title and Y2J while Okada was with Naito (who was Lugered, and ended up waiting three and half fucking years for HIS second time with the belt despite LIJs popularity and merch sales)... finally Kenny landed the big one at Dominion '18, a good 18 months later. By which time, he was already eyeing the exit door. In the meantime over in the New Japan thread after Okada went over Naito and the question of "Who next year for Okada" I suggested Ibushi, who was clearly good enough and ready. Come WK'13, its Tana vs Omega on top, Okada forced to try and make something out of still-useless Jay White, and I can't even remember if Ibushi was booked. It was the year after that Kota finally went into Kingdom as the challenger having won the G1 and a further year before they let him actually win the belt. .... and in the meantime of THOSE developments, Sanada looked a star in waiting in the 2018 G1 and I was telling friends (i.e. @tsve - FUCK! Hello mate) I had him earmarked as losing finalist for 2019 ahead of a proper promotion to main event. He ended up winning a singles title (US) from Tana 3 1/2 years later and eventually getting his first crack at the big one (and winning) in 2023. It's felt for donkeys years that they'd rather have the same three or four guys wrestling the bigger main events and force the guys that are ready to prove themselves ready for literally years while the incumbents become stale. By which time the new faces have already wrestled the main eventers AND all their realistic challengers in singles matches several times over by the time they win the belt. 1 hour ago, Nick James said: I'm not a watcher of NJPW, but this could have been a fantastic opportunity for Takeshita to lead the charge. Takeshita works for DDT, not New Japan. Edited January 19 by air_raid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nick James Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 1 minute ago, air_raid said: Takeshita works for DDT, not New Japan. If he wasn't signed by AEW, he would have been a good fit for the top of the card in New Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 Just now, Nick James said: If he wasn't signed by AEW, he would have been a good fit for the top of the card in New Japan. Aha. If they start thinking that way now, they might finally sign him around 2028. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uklaw Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 1 hour ago, Snitsky's back acne said: I'm not a big follower but Yota Tsuji looks the business and Umino, Uemura and O-Khan seem like they could be something. Am I wrong in that assessment? Yota Tsuji absolutely, and it’s clear to me that he’s a definite future World Champion given how he’s been presented since his return from excursion. Shota Umino, I think, will be one of their big stars a little later, as will Ren Narita and eventually Yuya Uemura. In fact, weren’t Tsuji, Umino and Narita recently christened their new ‘Three Musketeers’? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JLM Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 A large serving of Okada vs GUNTHER  for me please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 10 minutes ago, JLM said: A large serving of Okada vs GUNTHER  for me please. I would say that I'd been keen for another round of Okada vs Styles, but the AJ vs Nakamura repeats didn't live up to their Wrestle Kingdom cracker. Thinking about one spot in isolation.... the Rainmaker, if he kept it for his finish, would look real smooth if countered with the RKO. But I don't think Okada's slow burn vs Orton's chinlock would work well. Okada vs Punk is the one for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 I would hope if WWE invested in him that he'd get the Jade Cargill treatment and hyped up massively. Mostly because I think he needs it, especially with WWE's audience being a lot more casual. And you're not just going to shove him down in NXT. He's an easy sell. They just need to put some effort into it. I'd hate to just see him turn up in front of a lukewarm confused crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 25 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said: He's an easy sell. They just need to put some effort into it. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY, MONEEEEEEYYYYYY ....... everybody's got a price.... .... everybody's gonna pay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merzbow Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 The Million Yen Man falls apart when you realize how many dollars that actually equals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinity Land Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Confirms he's leaving within a week of working for the new TNA 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 4 hours ago, 2Xtreme_lives said: Miz/Okada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 19 Paid Members Share Posted January 19 33 minutes ago, Merzbow said: The Million Yen Man falls apart when you realize how many dollars that actually equals. In Japan every 7-11, Lawsons or similar Spar-type convenience shop has a charity box on their counter specifically for shoppers to drop their unwanted 1 Yen coins from their change into, because the coin has so little value people simply can’t be arsed to carry them around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.