Puroresu Love & Resources V3

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1348693556437913600

Willing to bet a High Fly Flow Lemon Zima that this them announcing postponement of this tour. Or at least that it'll be fanless

 

[Baby Shoes]

HOW CAN YOU BET IT IF YOU CANNOT OBTAIN IT @King Kamala ?!?!

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I will find a way...

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

So New Beginning tour is happening.

2021.01.30 THE NEW BEGINNING in NAGOYA | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

www.njpw1972.com

Top three matches on the 1-30 card deserve all the crunk dinos. Night 1 of New Beginning in Hiroshima is main evented by Hiromu Takahashi Vs SHO and Night 2 is main evented by Kota Ibushi's first World Title defense against SANADA.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

bunch of stuff looks great. really interest in kojima vs ospreay too

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1349651271863525378

Very interesting.

Another theory I have heard is that this is the excuse to write off Jay for a few months for COVID protocol and/or some rest and he will come back as a face (or a face leaning tweeter) when EVIL takes over Bullet Club fully while he is gone.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Watched the first Road To show over morning coffee. Man, is anyone able to muster up any enthusiasm for Ibushi Vs SANADA? Like I'm sure it'll a good if not great match workmate wise but storyline wise, there's like zero suspense. I know the first challenger for Ibushi is going to be a lame duck one but they're really pigeon holing SANADA into the role of "lame duck challenger".I don't see how it does anything for anyone since Ibushi has already beaten SANADA cleanly. Unless on the 0.0001% chance they're going to give the title to SANADA, which would be extremely dumb.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

I can get behind these sub 2 hour shows.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Second that love. Even though most of these shows will be just a bunch of three star specials, there's something comforting about a 90-120 minute show with four or five solid matches.

Oddly, match I'm most looking forward to on the tour besides Ospreay-Kojima and Shingo Vs Tanahashi, is Suzuki & DOUKI Vs Gedo & Jado on 1-23. In my imagination, Suzuki terrorizing old man, grunting and bad selling Gedo & Jado will be hilarious.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1351864212306460672

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

im still finishing out 2020 and I'm watching NOAH's N1 Tourny right now. Go for sure deserves the award. I was very down on NOAH at the start of the year and he's almost single handedly turned my opinion around. Still not happy with so many old guys there dominating the card but there's a ton of great talent and he's been phenomenal.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

NJPW sub major events that don't warrant a thread.

I like that they're breaking up this seemingly never ending Road To tour with a show that feels semi-important. It just makes me wish that they couldn't give us one stinking NEVER Six Man Tag Team Titles defense this tour. They actually seemed like they were going to make something of an effort to make them a solid mid card belt last year and now we can't find one opportunity to give YOSHI-HASHI time to shine! There's like twenty or so odd shows on this tour SMDH. Anyway, I digress...

NJPW Road to THE NEW BEGINNING
January 23rd, 2021
Live from Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles Match
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado (c) Vs El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori

Ten Man Tag Elimination Match
Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma, SHO, and Master Wato Vs L.I.J. (SANADA, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahasi, and BUSHI)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan Comeback Match
Tencozy Vs The Empire (Will Ospreay & The Great O-Khan)

Six Man Tag
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI) Vs Bullet Club (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and Dick Togo)

Minoru Suzki & DOUKI Vs Jado & Gedo


I weirdly like how NJPW has had to rely on a lot of heel Vs heel matches due to the thinned out roster. It sums up state of the world at the moment in an odd way. We're just watching a bunch of scoundrels duke it out while we wait for things to return to normal. I actually think there's a mild to moderate chance the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles match could be match of the tour.

I'll be curious to see how many will be in the arena. Korakuen has been emptier than I have ever seen and Ota City Gymnasium is 2x the size.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

I'm really enjoying these tight, easy to watch 5 match, sub 2 hour Road To shows. This one should be really good. Although I'm already over the ELP loaded boot story. Maybe if BC didn't cheat in every match it'd have more impact.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Unfortunately for your sake, I'm fully expecting "What's in ELP's boot?" to be a running gag ala Bob Orton's cast or D Lo Brown's chest protector (or Lex Luger's forearm, @The Art of Postin' )

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Oddly, match I'm most looking forward to on the tour besides Ospreay-Kojima and Shingo Vs Tanahashi, is Suzuki & DOUKI Vs Gedo & Jado on 1-23. In my imagination, Suzuki terrorizing old man, grunting and bad selling Gedo & Jado will be hilarious.

Just put on today's show. This match had too much Gedo & Jado working over DOUKI and not enough Suzuki murdering less physically capable old dogs. I did like seeing Suzuki playing defacto babyface.

I also liked seeing Taichi on color commentary, looking and dressed like a douche that Paris Hilton would have dated in 2003.

I know these are holding pattern shows and I'm sure things will pick up for them once shows start mattering again but it's weird seeing Okada and Naito be in such irrelevant roles.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Damn. I can't believe that elimination tag team match was just a vehicle to put over Honma. What a time to be alive.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Gedo must be listening to the "These Road To/Korakuen Hall shows are too predictable!" criticisms cause today saw the Dads + young lions team actually winning the opener against the name opponents (with Gedo himself taking the fall) and they had a semi-rare time limit draw in the main event.

Plus they're making Will Ospreay-Satoshi Kojima on Saturday a No DQ match! And El Phantasmo on color commentary with Kevin Kelly. That one is less exciting but I'm going to enjoy listening to him troll everyone for two hours this weekend.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

ELP jumped on commentary the other day after his match, and it was fun. He played up the heel role well. I love Kevin, but it sounds a little dead when it's just him calling the action. Adding a second person is a smart move.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Yeah, having Kevin Kelly there live is better (and I don't think he has gotten nearly enough props for leaving his family for a month and a half during the holiday season to tour with NJPW) than when he was calling these Road To shows solo from his house this summer but it's impossible for anyone post Gordon Solie to do great solo PBP. Chris Charlton was supposed to do color commentary with him for the tour but had to drop out.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Hideki Suzuki headed internationally with 'one-way ticket'

Hideki Suzuki has left Japan, though it isn’t currently clear where his destination is. Tokyo Sports reported this morning that the Big Japan Pro Wrestling

www.f4wonline.com

also apparently jiro kuroshio signed with wwe which i had no idea about. @Slayer did you know that?

Jiro was one of the most over guys on the indies in Japan but I don't see him really doing much in WWE. And not because WWE is awful or anything but because his gimmick was kinda dumb. He'd have done way better in AEW as a partner for OC.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

would love to see hideki vs bryan though

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Is the NXT Japan idea that was bubbling up before the pandemic still in play? That is only way that signing makes sense IMO.

The Great O-Khan/Tenzan match on Saturday has announced a stipulation of “Mongolian Chops Will Get You DQ’d”, which seems perfect for an ‘80s style big man match. Who knew what would get me to kind of care about O-Khan is a feud with a basically immobile part time manager?

Speaking of immobile and the shiftless nature of these post WK shows, I cannot fucking believe that Naito’s first mini program after losing the double titles is with Honma, who literally can’t lift his arms up. As someone who started watching in past few years, I know Honma may have been good at one point but right now he looks and wrestles like Hardcore Holly (current 2021 version not whatever early ‘00s peak Hardcore Holly) if he fell asleep on the beach and got a bad case of heat stroke.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

Is the NXT Japan idea that was bubbling up before the pandemic still in play? That is only way that signing makes sense IMO.

The Great O-Khan/Tenzan match on Saturday has announced a stipulation of “Mongolian Chops Will Get You DQ’d”, which seems perfect for an ‘80s style big man match. Who knew what would get me to kind of care about O-Khan is a feud with a basically immobile part time manager?

Speaking of immobile and the shiftless nature of these post WK shows, I cannot fucking believe that Naito’s first mini program after losing the double titles is with Honma, who literally can’t lift his arms up. As someone who started watching in past few years, I know Honma may have been good at one point but right now he looks and wrestles like Hardcore Holly (current 2021 version not whatever early ‘00s peak Hardcore Holly) if he fell asleep on the beach and got a bad case of heat stroke.

I read that the stipulation is that whoever loses is forced to never use the Mongolian Chop ever again.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Shit! Once again, Fake News @King Kamala should have read the full article. That's EVEN BETTER as a stipulation tbh.

I'm assuming Tenzan gets written off as an active wrestler (outside of NJPW Dad/Young Lions openers maybe) with this match so that's perfect.

 

[Slayer]

also apparently jiro kuroshio signed with wwe which i had no idea about. @Slayer did you know that?

Jiro was one of the most over guys on the indies in Japan but I don't see him really doing much in WWE. And not because WWE is awful or anything but because his gimmick was kinda dumb. He'd have done way better in AEW as a partner for OC.

Hadn't heard the about the actual signing until your post but rumors of Jiro's wanting to come to the US have been floating about since his W1 contract expiration in mid-19, with pandemic issues obviously putting that in a holding pattern over the last year

I do agree though about expectations in the WWE, even if they didn't alter him in anyway (pause for laugh here). While he's a good enough wrestler, most of his work is wrapped up in the Ikemen gimmick which is a very Japanese-based character-type so there's no telling how the WWE audience might respond as I dunno if he could pick up the crossover appeal that a Nakamura or Asuka have. Hell I could see ignorant fans thinking he's a mild ripoff of Nakamura (which he isn't)

Speaking of which, another big part of his gimmick is (was) his entrance where he runs around the audience, dancing and interacting with fans. He's had to put the kibosh on that during the COVID-era but even during non-COVID times I dunno if he'd be allowed to do that stateside with issues like American fans vs Japanese fans and our ever-present concerns over the slightest of liabilities. While we have do (did) have crowd entrances here, I feel like it's there's a big difference between, say, The Shield or early Roman walking straight to the ring flanked by security guys compared to what Jiro was doing

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Cards that don't warrant a thread.

It's part one of the three part fallout show to WrestleKingdom.

NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya
January 30th, 2021
Live from Dolphin's Arena in Nagoya, Japan
Announcers (English version): Kevin Kelly & El Phantasmo

NEVER Openweight Title Match
Shingo Takagi (c) Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

No DQ Match
Will Ospreay Vs Satoshi Kojima

Loser Must Retire Their Mongolian Chops
The Great O-Khan Vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Eight Man Tag
Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, and Tetsuya Naito) Vs Kota Ibushi, SHO, Master Wato, and Tomoaki Honma

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano) Vs Bullet Club (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi) (with Dick Togo)

Even though it's least important kayfabe wise, this is part I'm most excited for. I'm surprisingly enjoying The Empire Vs New Japan Dads feud and I think Dads are going to use whatever they have left to establish Empire as top new heel stable. Similarly, I'm really really looking forward to Strong Style Ace.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

I still wish that O-Kahn didn't have a racist gimmick (although it's apparently over huge with the NJPW fans in Japan), but this feud is doing great things for him. I second the love for The Empire vs NJPW Dads feud. It's been fun having Tencozi as part of an important story. Those matches should be fun.

Shingo vs Tana could be a MOTY candidate.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Yeah. Japan's behind the United States in some aspects when it comes to cultural sensitive. It'd be nice if the English language commentary explained the um, cultural differences like English language commentary for AAA has done when their crowds chant homophobic shit but if NJPW probably has no qualms with O-Khan being a racist old stereotype straight out of 1981.

 

[tekcop]

I mentioned this in chat a while back, but it's especially weird when both active yokozunas are Mongolian and the traditionally conservative sumo crowd has no problem treating them normally.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I didn't even know Mongolia had a big enough population to produce stereotypical characters tbh.

(wait, am I being racist now?)