Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 5 Paid Members Posted January 5 skipped through Wrestle Kingdom yesterday, having not watched any NJPW in a long while, and thought it was mostly fantastic. Takeshita vs. Tsuji was great, and Tanahashi vs. Okada was fantastic - as good a retirement match as I've seen, Tanahashi really felt like he gave everything just to keep fighting. Red Shoes being completely biased throughout was great. The retirement ceremony was lovely too, though I could have done without them making Ibushi walk all the way down to the ring when he clearly shouldn't be walking unaided - between knowing what Ibushi is like, and what wrestlers are like in general, and then Tana clearly giving him a bit of a telling off, I suspect Kota insisted on walking on his own, and someone should have stopped him. I'm not sure there was quite enough there to hook me into watching NJPW more regularly again, though I suspect it did a much better job for a domestic audience. Yota Tsuji came out of it really feeling like a star. It's just a shame that, by the nature of the retirement ceremony, the show ended with a lot of people who aren't going to be around into the future - it might have been nice for Tsuji to have come out and accepted the endorsement of Tanahashi to pass the torch at the end, and leave Jake Lee attacking Tsuji for New Year's Dash. It was nonsense, but I enjoyed Aaron Wolf's debut. I'm a sucker for an overbooked mess, and for a big martial arts guy debuting in wrestling, so it worked for me. The chairshot on the floor was gnarly. I'm fascinated by what comes next for NJPW, though. The Yen is the weakest it's been in decades, and a lot of contracts are up this month, so I would expect a lot of the westerners to be on the way out, and any Japanese wrestler who thinks they might be able to try their luck elsewhere will take the gamble. It could be like the weak Peso in the '90s driving a lot of luchadores towards WCW even when it wasn't otherwise best for their career. Dave Finlay, Clark Connors and Dan Moloney's deals are coming up, and WWE are apparently interested in Oskar and Yuto-Ice, so that would absolutely gut what's left of Bullet Club if they all leave - there's never been a better time to put that faction down, but I wouldn't be surprised if they move to a new iteration led by Gabe Kidd, though that would be a sticking plaster solution at best, as I assume Gabe is AEW-bound eventually. EVIL and Sanada also seem to potentially have one foot out the door, I've heard Zack Sabre Jr's deal might be up, and I'm curious how much time Takeshita will be able to devote to NJPW. We could be looking at a bit of a mass exodus. Quote
Paid Members waters44 Posted January 5 Author Paid Members Posted January 5 Spoiler I missed the pre show but watched the whole show from 7am and it wasn't a great start. I would say everything up to EVIL vs Aaron Wolf is missable, there is some love for Syuri vs Kamitani but it didn't do much for me to be honest The last three matches were great though! EVIL vs Aaron Wolf on paper is easy to book but there's always the worry NJPW will mess it up. Luckily they didn't and it went extremely well! They completely got the crowd going too which was desperately needed Takeshita vs Tsuji was excellent with some real heart stopping moments - that blue thunder bomb from the top was insane, Tsuji nearly bounced back up to the top rope. The final stretch was great, loved them using each others moves and the sound of the smack of Tsuji's spear to put The Alpha down before the finish. ****1/2 Then we get to Tanahashi's retirement match and I don't have the words to describe it honestly. Just heart in mouth, tears in eyes, butterflies in stomach wrestling. I'll never forget The Ace crawling back to the ring with all the strength he could muster. The stretch of Tana hitting Okada with everything but can't quite get over the line was proper edge of your seat stuff. Cocky Okada hitting two rainmakers but the nonchalant cover gives Tana just enough to get the shoulder up. Okada then getting serious, doing the pose and putting Tanahashi away. It was glorious. Actually it was perfect. ***** Welled up all the way through the retirement ceremony until Naito took the complete piss and took the wind out of the sails of the whole thing. Nevermind. Ibushi needs saving from himself, he legit looked like his leg would snap again any minute and I was watching through my fingers when he had to navigate down the ramp So yeah, the last three matches are required watching Quote
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted January 5 Paid Members Posted January 5 (edited) 8 hours ago, BomberPat said: We could be looking at a bit of a mass exodus. I'm not a NJPW watcher. My only experience of them is whoever has turned up on Dynamite or Forbidden Door. Out of the people who will likely go which are the standouts? AEW's roster is stacked but 2-3 fresh new top guys could also really freshen things up. Edited January 5 by LaGoosh Quote
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 5 Paid Members Posted January 5 15 minutes ago, LaGoosh said: I'm not a NJPW watcher. My only experience of them is whoever has turned up on Dynamite or Forbidden Door. Out of the people who will likely go which are the standouts? AEW's roster is stacked but 2-3 fresh new top guys could also really freshen things up. I don't know who's necessarily likely to leave, but of those rumoured, it's all either people who have already been featured in AEW - like Zack Sabre Jr - or who I don't see coming in as a top guy, like Dave Finlay. I don't really see anything game changing for AEW here, assuming that's the direction of travel for anyone leaving NJPW. Quote
Merzbow Posted January 5 Posted January 5 I'm not at all against many of the Gaijin leaving, I really feel like 2026 is going to be the year things change up quite a bit with pushes of the homegrown Japanese talent finally getting in to a place they should have been the past few years. It'd be sad to see Gabe Kidd leave though, out of all of them he's the one that feels at home here and lets be honest and say he hasn't translated to AEW's TV very well at all. Tsuji was interviewed recently and while seemingly partially in character there was a real sense that he does *not* like NJPW working with AEW. Quote
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 6 Paid Members Posted January 6 I just don't think Gabe Kidd is a very good TV wrestler; it overemphasises his "I'm a mad lad, me" stuff that maybe comes across as intimidating to non-UK viewers, but to us just looks like a prick in a Wetherspoons car park. There's a lot less of that to him in NJPW, from what I've seen. I would have put money on New Years Dash involving either Gabe Kidd kicking out Finlay and taking charge of yet another iteration of War Dogs, or Jake Lee taking over United Empire, so Bullet Club seemingly dying out with a whimper instead was a surprise - it definitely like Finlay was out the door, though. Given they seem to be getting rid of/unifying the STRONG belts and everything that was part of their more western expansion ideas, there's definitely a sense of NJPW closing ranks and focusing more on the Japanese market and on Japanese wrestlers, and that's no bad thing. The AEW relationship is good for them, but it can't be at the expense of their own identity, and Tsuji explicitly harking back to NJPW's past is a great start to right the ship. It is telling that Tsuji has never really been part of any AEW crossover, beyond a pre-show multi-man on the first Forbidden Door. Quote
Paid Members mim731 Posted January 6 Paid Members Posted January 6 13 minutes ago, BomberPat said: I would have put money on New Years Dash involving either Gabe Kidd kicking out Finlay and taking charge of yet another iteration of War Dogs, or Jake Lee taking over United Empire, so Bullet Club seemingly dying out with a whimper instead was a surprise - it definitely like Finlay was out the door, though. I wouldn't be totally shocked to see Finlay land in WWE. I don't see a spot for him in AEW at the moment, and with SmackDown going back to three hours I could see them dropping him into the mid-card there or in a spot in NXT, given his name and the connection with his Dad working there still (I think). Will it be a good move? Not sure, never really saw much in him really, but with a fresh coat of paint maybe it works out. He's definitely going to AEW and randomly attacking Kenny Omega now I've said that, isn't he? Quote
Paid Members BomberPat Posted January 6 Paid Members Posted January 6 If he goes to AEW, I assume it's a move into the Bang Bang Gang. Maybe de facto leader while Jay White is on the shelf, for an eventual power struggle. But AEW have never seemed interested in him before, so I wouldn't have thought that happens. WWE does seem more likely, but again, I don't see him doing anything spectacular there, maybe even going to NXT to be treated as a big deal for five minutes, then do some nudge-wink stuff with Regal's kid. Fit still works there, and Brogan Finlay is in NXT too, so they could end up sticking them together, though you'd think if the plan was ever to lean on Fit for a WWE deal he could have done that at any time. Quote
The King Of Swing Posted January 11 Posted January 11 So Maki Itoh has signed with Stardom. Also Saki Kashima has announced that she is retiring. Quote
Merzbow Posted January 11 Posted January 11 I haven't caught Maki in a while but always found her to be funny and liked that she got over enough in the US for her to take off on the indies though like GCW. But has her wrestling ability caught up to be a threat in a company like Stardom? Quote
The King Of Swing Posted January 12 Posted January 12 21 hours ago, Merzbow said: But has her wrestling ability caught up to be a threat in a company like Stardom? Still far from Stardom main event levels, imo. She can have a decent match with the right opponent. Mina Shirikawa wasn't great when she jumped to Stardom but improved a lot over time and I can see the same thing happening with Maki. Quote
Merzbow Posted January 13 Posted January 13 Dave Meltzer has been reporting that it's WWE who are mostly after Gabe Kidd right now, someone's fed him into that top people are super into him and trying to do everything to sign him. Can't wait to see him be completely neutered, unless he's got something else in him we haven't seen yet. Quote
lanky316 Posted January 13 Posted January 13 On 1/11/2026 at 11:06 PM, Merzbow said: I haven't caught Maki in a while but always found her to be funny and liked that she got over enough in the US for her to take off on the indies though like GCW. But has her wrestling ability caught up to be a threat in a company like Stardom? There's an argument that she "went backwards" as far as wrestling ability the more she tried to break the US. Not necessarily one I'd agree with but it does seem that it stalled her progress in TJPW. With her being away for a few months every now and then - she missed the last four Princess Cups which could have been a chance to get her on board, especially after she won the last one she was in before falling short - they never pulled the trigger and I do think that a run on the top at some point would have showcased more of how she could go at the top of the card. Her tag runs with Miyu for example were generally solid to great. In Stardom, the character is well in place and fleshed out (that her first arc seems to revolve around her potentially losing the Cutest in the World "title" says it all to me) and I caught a reference to someone joining the Itoh Respect Army so clearly there is enough from that side to work with. In ring she is good and can do well anywhere on the Stardom card they put her even though I don't think her ring level is up there with the peak I could see her being a simple option to throw in for a defence 1/2 for belts as it is and I'm sure that within the Stardom group she'll improve a lot more on the trajectory that it looked like she'd be on in about 21 after the Princess Cup title shot where people felt that it was just a matter of time. Quote
CavemanLynn Posted January 13 Posted January 13 8 hours ago, lanky316 said: the Itoh Respect Army Please tell me there's an "IRA" t shirt I can wear to my next family function. Quote
Merzbow Posted January 24 Posted January 24 (edited) 5 hours ago, Ralphy said: Hi. Perfect thread i think for my question I have always enjoyed the Super-junior style Japanese wrestling (not a fan of strong style) but my actual watching of it, aside from the occasional re watch of NJPW SJC 94 and various Great Sasuke, Liger, Ultimo Dragon and Hayabusa matches, i am fairly unfamiliar Any event, match would be appreciated as i pretty much only know Cruiserweights from the WCW and WWF days There are going to be people here who can talk to you better about Dragon Gate but that promotion was the pinnacle of Japanese super-junior style wrestling for years. I'd say the best known match and a wild classic was when they came over to ROH, as good a start to the company as any. The match that put them on the map and led to this ROH battle is on here (you may need to sign up?): https://vk.com/video432581098_456239266 Edited January 24 by Merzbow Quote
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.