Puroresu Love & Resources V3

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

Somebody hose down CWM because the first of Liger's two retirement matches has been announced for the Dome!

An 8-man tag featuring Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke and Tiger Mask (with El Samurai) against Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Ryusuke Taguchi (with Kuniaki Kobayashi). Norio Honaga is the special guest referee!

OLD DAWG MANIA AH SHIT I'M BEATIN'

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

WWE is scheduled to make a big announcement on Friday that Meltz says might be the announcement of NXT Japan.

And an unverified rumor that Big Japan Pro Wrestling might sell out to WWE and become the Japanese EVOLVE.

If we get Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Big E though 8)

 

[muzzington]

https://twitter.com/davemeltzerwon/status/1184657105527037952

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/njpw-parent-company-bushiroad-acquires-stardom-295061

Notes from that:
There are no plans at present for Stardom talent to appear on New Japan shows, or vice versa. However, if New Japan does see a demand for women's matches on foreign shows, where there is no sign of any at this point, this will give them easier access to broker a deal for such talent.

NJPW and Stardom will be run and kept completely separate.

Hiroshi Ogawa with Reoman as the Stardom CEO.

As part of the deal, a TV show will air on BS NTV and Tokyo MX starting in January, with the BS NTV show being a 30 minute show on Thursdays.

The streaming service Stardom World will remain the exclusive for Stardom events. New Japan World will not be streaming Stardom, and with New Japan World part-owned by TV-Asahi and the Stardom TV deal with rival NTV, politically that would be almost impossible to work out.

The Stardom talent will also be signed to full-time contracts.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

https://www.f4wonline.com/japan/njpw-parent-company-bushiroad-acquires-stardom-295061

Notes from that:
There are no plans at present for Stardom talent to appear on New Japan shows, or vice versa. However, if New Japan does see a demand for women's matches on foreign shows, where there is no sign of any at this point, this will give them easier access to broker a deal for such talent.

NJPW and Stardom will be run and kept completely separate.

Hiroshi Ogawa with Reoman as the Stardom CEO.

As part of the deal, a TV show will air on BS NTV and Tokyo MX starting in January, with the BS NTV show being a 30 minute show on Thursdays.

The streaming service Stardom World will remain the exclusive for Stardom events. New Japan World will not be streaming Stardom, and with New Japan World part-owned by TV-Asahi and the Stardom TV deal with rival NTV, politically that would be almost impossible to work out.

The Stardom talent will also be signed to full-time contracts.

I really love that last part. Great for the talent, and smart with other companies trying to sign the talent.

I wonder if this means we will get a Roku/Fire app now for Stardom World

 

[909]

NJPW is starting NJPW USA. So they no longer need any American partner and I assume the ROH partnership is dead. This deserves its own thread but I’m tired.

 

[909]

All I’m gonna say is BAH GAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWD

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/brothermort/status/1191253864453939200
WWE picking Big Japan to be their Japanese partner is certainly unexpected and weird.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Walter worked for big japan a lot in the past so this might be something they're letting Walter do rather than a partnership. If it is a partnership though it's pretty awesome because BJPW has a fantastic roster of non-death match guys. If I can see Sekimoto vs Cesaro or really a dozen different dudes...ah shit.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Dome shows are shaping up very nicely

anuary 4 -

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight title
Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental title
Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Jr. title
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask (with El Samurai) vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Ohtani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi (with Kuniaki Kobayashi)


January 5 -
IWGP Heavyweight champion vs. IWGP Intercontinental champion for both titles
The two non champions following the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental title matches on January 4 will have a singles match
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. SHO & YOH for the IWGP Jr. Tag Team titles
---
Liger wants to wrestle someone on the 5th who he's never worked before as well.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

I'd love to see Hiromu win the title and face Liger on the 5th. It might be Will be Liger, though, as he's pushed for it in the past.

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

Liger and Will have wrestled each other before so if Liger really wants someone he's never faced, Hiromu would make more sense.

Have Toru and Liger faced one another? If so, I smell the real main event on 1/5!

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

https://www.wrestlekingdom.jp/en/bestbout.html

best liger matches poll. LIKE PICKING BETWEEN MY CHILDREN CAN'T DO IT.

Great list of stuff though for people looking for matches to watch.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Jon Moxley challenged Lance Archer to a Texas Death Match for the IWGP US Title at WrestleKingdom.

MY BODY IS READY!

Also it sounds like Liger's final match will be a Triple Threat against Dragon Lee and Hiromu Takahashi, which seems like kind of a copout but whatever still cool.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

down for mox/archer texas death for sure.

The two final liger matches sound great to me. One is a cool legends match and the other he gets to work with the two big stars of the future and put them over.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

Lineups for both nights of WK released

https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1203920594179371009

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Sanada is being criminally underused considering how great a year he has had but aside from that it's a fantastic two-night card and hopefully he'll get a big angle at DASH or something. Super hyped for the two Liger matches more than anything else tbh. Gonna be bitter-sweet. Teaming with Sano against the modern mega-rivals is the perfect ending.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Those cards look great but it is a bit of a bummer that they have two nights of shows and still have to stick some awesome talent like Shingo and Ishii in multiman tags. At least SANADA gets a singles match.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

Sanada is being criminally underused considering how great a year he has had but aside from that it's a fantastic two-night card and hopefully he'll get a big angle at DASH or something. Super hyped for the two Liger matches more than anything else tbh. Gonna be bitter-sweet. Teaming with Sano against the modern mega-rivals is the perfect ending.

Agreed. I see so many people bitching that it should have just been a three way on night 2. This is what Lyger wanted, and I think it is much better. Lyger is my all-time favorite wrestler, so to see him retiring makes me so emotional, but I love that NJPW is giving him 3 straight days or celebrations (with NY Dash being about his ceremony).

I can see people wanting Ishii, Shingo, ad Suzuki to have matches, especially Shingo who had an amazing year. Suzuki is sitll hurting, so tag matches are better for his health right now.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

It is also a bummer that Shibata Vs KENTA storyline pays off with Shibata being Goto's cornerman but I guess better safe than sorry with Shibata's condition.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Tokyo Sports announced their annual awards today. Kazuchika Okada took the top honor of MVP of the Year for the fourth time, previously winning in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Antonio Inoki holds the record with six wins. The winners of this year’s awards are:
MVP: Kazuchika Okada (NJPW)
Best Bout: Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA from NJPW King of Pro Wrestling
Best Tag Team: Suwama & Shuji Ishikawa (AJPW)
Outstanding Performance: Kento Miyahara (AJPW)
Technique: Kota Ibushi (NJPW)
Rookie: Strong Machine J (Dragon Gate)
Women: Mayu Iwatami (Stardom)

Can't really disagree with most of this although I'd have picked Miyahara for Technique. Suwama/Shuji deserve the love so I'm happy there. They should add an award to recognize talent outside of the major companies though because it's impossible to get recognition if you aren't in NJPW or a couple of others.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Three more undercard matches added to WrestleKingdom. Night one apparently is gonna open with OLD DAWGS, for some reason, as Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi take on Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima. Night one is also gonna have a Young Lions heavy eight man tag Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe, Yuya Uemura, and Yota Tsuji vs. Toa Henare, Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, and Karl Fredericks.

Night Two is going to have a NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles gauntlet with Yano, Togi Makabe, and Taguchi Vs CHAOS Vs Bullet Club Vs LIJ Vs Suzuki Gun.

No disrespect to OLD DAWGS or Young Lions but weird that those matches got a spot on the card and Shingo Takagi doesn't have a singles match. Grumble grumble.

Those matches being added do me think of who WWE would drag out for undercard matches if they had to make WrestleMania two nights.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Stardom announced they're going to have a match at WrestleKingdom 14.

And all of the nerds who say "But NEW JAPAN SHOWS NEVER HAVE ANY WOMEN AT ALL!" just pooped in their bathrobes.

 

[tekcop]

Has NJPW ever had a women's match? Not counting something like Chyna/Chono.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Off the top of my head without looking anything up I can't think of one aside from maybe a big interpromotional show where multiple companies were represented or maybe a Makai show.

 

[Slayer]

There's been a rash of puro retirements as of late. Last month Reo Tazuki announced she was walking away from the ring, then yesterday morning Kagetsu did the same and this morning a big drop with Masato Yoshino saying he's hanging up the boots sometime next year as he's still having problems from his neck injury a few years back

Sources:

Spoiler

https://twitter.com/wwr_stardom/status/1209749980010803200

https://twitter.com/DragonGateEN/status/1210166366851874816

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

oh man Yoshino is a big one. I've been a huge fan of his but he's for sure slowed down in recent years. That'll be another huge loss for Dragon Gate though as a draw. I feel like we're just going to see more of them coming too.

 

[KingPK]

So with New Japan losing AXS TV, I wonder if they'll go back to using ROH as their main American conduit.

NJPW 2020: Make ROH Relevant Again!

 

[Slayer]

A couple notable results from non-NJ shows over the last few days

The biggest shock came from the sellout NOAH show in Korakuen that ran counter to WK Night 1 as newfound young ace Kaito Kiyomiya's year+ GHC reign ended at the hands of Go Shiozaki. Shiozaki sported new Misawa-inspired green and white attire counter to Kiyomiya's (don't feel like linking tweets but you can find them easily); whether that was a one-time thing or permanent change we'll have to see. This also makes Go a double champ since he is part of the current GHC tag champions with Nakajima. To me this very similar to what happened with Ben-K and the Dream Gate title where both had a lot of defenses against the old guard and I had expected both to eventually drop the belts to a generational peer (e.g. Kzy in DG, Nakajima in NOAH) and then got surprised (not necessarily in a bad way, especially as someone who wanted to see Doi get another DG run) when they lost the belts back to older wrestlers

From the two All Japan shows, while most people would focus on another excellent Kento defense (though I was not a fan of the immediate Lee rematch, especially now with two losses in a row Lee's challenger credibility will take a long while to rebuild), the big thing for me was Dragon Gate workhorse Susumu Yokosuka winning the 8-man tourney for the junior title vacated by Atsushi Aoki's death last June. First I'm happy just as a big fan of Susumu, but the bigger picture is that along with things like Kagetora also being in that tourney and Mochizuki's 2019 work in AJ/NOAH/BJW shows that DG is overcoming the insular attitude they adopted for most of the 2010s and are going back to more cooperation with other puro feds like they did during their first major peak in the mid-00s

 

[Slayer]

So, funny enough, Go 2Belts didn't even last 24 hours as he and Nakajima lost the GHC tag belts at the 1/5 Korakuen show (which unlike the 1/4 show ran before WK rather than against it) to the team of Marufuji and Masaaki motherfucking Mochizuki. Aside from the title change, the main story coming out of the match appears to be setting up for Nakajima to challenge Go for his first GHC defense as Go was so distracted taunting Marufuji outside the ring he missed Mochi catching a quick cradle on Nakajima for the pin when Go could have easily broken it up otherwise

Also tying to my previous post is the fact that now two DG wrestlers have belts from other feds