Puroresu Love & Resources V3

[Slayer]

Before talking about KOG I suppose I should have a quick post about this year's format. Three round-robin blocks with six wrestlers each, block winners advance while the non-winners compete in a "Second Chance" Battle Royal with that winner taking the last final four spot, after which random drawing determines the semifinal matches. Going into the tourney the block lineups were such:

Block A: Ben-K, Diamante, Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk, Kota Minoura, Takashi Yoshida
Block B: Eita, SBK, Dragon Kid, Kzy, Jason Lee, Susumu Yokosuka
Block C: U-T, HYO*, Kaito Ishida, Keisuke Okuda, Shun Skywalker, YAMATO
*HYO subbed in for HipHop Kikuta after the latter's injury at DOA

That being established, the tourney already hit its second snag (after Kikuta) following a COVID diagnosis for Ben-K resulting in his removal for the remainder of the tourney. Since he had already wrestled Naruki Doi at the TV studio tapings, Doi has also been pulled as a precaution. Those two would have been the big favorites in A, so interested to see who wins the block now. Losing two wrestlers from one block also throws off the scheduling as now only three matches remain in A while the other two have barely started

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

Will Ospreay has a bad neck injury and has to vacate the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

On May 4’s night two of Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka, Will Ospreay sustained a neck injury. As a result, Ospreay will not be participating in the next series of events and will instead return to the UK for treatment and rehabilitation.

There is no timetable for Ospreay’s return to action at this time, and as a result, his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will be vacated.

Further announcements on the status of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will be made at a later date.

NJPW can't catch a break.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

This friggin blows but the thin silver lining is maybe they'll do the title tournament they should have done all along for the new title. But I'm having a hard time imagining any result, barring something absurd, that would make me psyched to watch NJPW again. Everyone just seems so burnt out.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

i don't want people to get injured but Ospreay vacating the title is the best njpw news I've heard in ages.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Rare photo of today’s NJPW creative meeting.

 

[Slayer]

What is interesting to me is how they managed to keep this under wraps for two weeks, not even a hint of "Ospreay may have severely injured himself during the Shingo match" in the days after Dontaku, so yeah really OOFN here. Question now is do they go back to one of the old safe options like Okada (who I don't think was a lock to beat Ospreay had the defense occured as planned), or continue to just take wild chances and put it on someone like White (NEVER notwithstanding), or maybe join the other feds with the "senior circuit" champions and finally give MiSu a run

Speaking of which, I do admit it's ironically amusing that for how much a good portion of western puro fandom (including myself) has dumped on the old men running lumbering wild with the Mutoh/Suwama/Akiyama trio (though Jun rightly gets more of a pass than the other two), they've quietly been chugging along well enough so far while the two feds with younger champs appear to be cursed

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I wouldn't be shocked if they did exactly what they were planning to do with Ospreay as IWGP World Heavyweight Champ with Switchblade Jay White instead. Feeling the title on Okada right now feels TOO predictable.

 

[Slayer]

I would totally be down for that; much as I was mildly warming to heel Ospreay, White is just soooooo(buncha o's here) much better at being a dickhead heel

Also what does this do for the United Empire in the meanwhile? OKhan seems a decent enough secondary mouthpiece for the faction, but can he carry things in Will's absence?

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I'd kind of like to see United Empire go after the tag team belts doing a Freebirds Rule gimmick with Ospreay out but LORD KNOWS WE HAVEN'T SEEN ENOUGH DANGEROUS TEKKERS VS GUERILLAS OF DESTINY MATCHES THESE PAST SIX MONTHS!

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

I've seen some people bring up the idea of using the G1 to crown the new champion. While that doesn't sound like a bad idea, and it gives the tournament an added importance. The only issue is what happens with Wrestle Kingdom? The winner of the G1 one usually faces the champion. I'm sure they could do a story where the person who pins the champion during the tournament can get the shot.

Ospreay, Naito, Ibushi, Okada are all no injured to varying degrees. Jay White is coming off of having Covid, so who even knows how well he's going to be. Tanahashi is always working hurt. Do they pull the trigger and put the belt on one of those wrestlers that are hurt? Do tehy go with Shingo? This is a mess right now.

 

[Slayer]

WE HAVEN'T SEEN ENOUGH DANGEROUS TEKKERS VS GUERILLAS OF DESTINY MATCHES THESE PAST SIX MONTHS!

Gedo: "What's that? You haven't seen enough Dangerous Tekkers vs GOD matches these past six months?" *books Dangerous Tekkers vs GOD match*

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

G1 is also not until the Fall again this year. Do we really want to go 4-5 months without a champion? Haven't we had enough directionless NJPW shows this pandemic? Just do a dang tournament.

If there was ever a time to elevate someone randomly this would be it. Although last time we said that, we got EVIL: Main Eventer.

 

[Slayer]

I've seen some people bring up the idea of using the G1 to crown the new champion. While that doesn't sound like a bad idea, and it gives the tournament an added importance. The only issue is what happens with Wrestle Kingdom? The winner of the G1 one usually faces the champion.

The linking of the G1 with WK is barely a decade old at this point. Before 2012 the G1 winner did get a title shot but at the September show after the G1 while the 1/4 title match was its own storyline, so it shouldn't be that long forgotten a concept, not like how the Royal Rumble has been married to WM for nearly its entire existence

As @King Kamala said though, with the G1 being in the fall again this year that is a long time for the fed to go without a champion. Hell even if it was in the usual July/Aug slot, that's still missing a couple potential big shows over the summer

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I wouldn't even mind a one night tournament at Dominion. NJPW's really given me tournament fatigue during this pandemic. Just figure out who the new champion is ASAP.

I would love a Rumble but that's a big dumb gaijin thought they would never do.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1395335258954997761

 

[Valeyard]

Pull the trigger on the Mongolian warrior.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I was going to say Jeff Cobb would be a good out of left field choice for IWGP World Heavyweight Champ but fuck it, O-KHAN's already got a W over Naito. Can he be any worse of a champ than EVIL?

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

there's a lot of things NJPW could do to right the ship. It just isn't likely to happen (at least quickly). This is all stuff I've been saying for several years and it is more urgent now.

They need to blow up most if not all the stables. Jettisoning them will instantly provide fresh matchups and provide a ton of fresh angles.

Make the 6 man and tag belts more important and have them defended regularly on the Road To shows. That adds stakes to all those time waster shows.

there's a lot of things but the big thing is they just need to mix things up. They also need to not worry about what Western fans want so much (I know I'm a western fan but go with it). With everything that's happened they need to worry about the core business first.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I'm reading reports that Ospreay was willing to tough it out for the Dome show on 5/29 and do the favor for Okada but when that show got scuppered, he said fuck it and vacated the title.

I will say the lineups for the Korakuen Hall shows next week look a little bit more freewheeling than most Korakuen Hall events this year. I'm most excited for YOSHI HASHI getting another main event and randomness of Shingo Takagi Vs Yota Tsuji.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

In more “ROH is actually being nice now” news, they are helping produce the English language broadcast of the Hana Kimura Memorial Show at Korakuen Hall tomorrow night.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1395809983678357513

 

[Brocklock]

There are rumors that the Ospreay situation is practically the same as HBK losing his smile in 97 and he decided to go home rather than there being a serious injury. Dave kind of hinted at that as well on his radio show.

Also, now is the time to give my guy Ishii a one month thank you run with the title. But for a more realistic choice, give Shingo the damn belt already.

 

[Slayer]

I'm gonna stick with my original choice (well, one of them)

join the other feds with the "senior circuit" champions and finally give MiSu a run

and he called his shot on Twitter too, after the news of Ospreay vacating

Spoiler

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1395391947133440005

Per GoogleTranslate: "IWGP-W I will do it"

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

If you guys will remember/go back, I said before the G1 that Suzuki should win and get the title at WK because during Covid there was no point in wasting things on someone else and it would be a feel good moment that he had earned. It would have been a really smart play IMO.

I love both Ishii and Shingo but I don't think putting the belt on either of them, especially Ishii is helpful. They need someone to have a long run after all these short runs. It should be Okada if he is healthy enough, Jay White, or SANADA with a long term angle of blowing up LIJ. I know a lot of western fans don't seem to get SANADA but he's very over and the style he works is perfect for the main event and what they need now. He is also probably the most healthy and safe guy they have.

 

[Slayer]

I'd take Sanada over Okada

I know it's been nearly eighteen months since he held the main belt but I'm still on Champion Okada burnout, plus his whole self-nerfing exercise during the COVID era has done him zero favours wrt refreshing his character

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Okada has also been pulled from upcoming New Japan shows due to a positive COVID test.

Idk if it can get much worse for New Japan. I'm sure it can and will but I don't wanna know how!

 

[Slayer]

Idk if it can get much worse for New Japan

"@King Kamala, report for much worse New Japan..."

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

The US issues a "Do Not Travel" advisory for Japan.

This is huge for the upcoming Olympics, but also could be huge for talent looking to go back and forth to NJPW and other Japanese companies.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

This stuff is all really bad for NJPW but it is way way way worse for the other companies. NJPW has the deep pockets to survive. Most of the others do not. NJPW has been through this kind of blight of injuries and booking problems many times before and they didn't have a pandemic to help distract people. Their core audience right now really doesn't give a fuck what is going on with them because things are so bad in Japan. So in a lot of ways they are lucky with that.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I love both Ishii and Shingo but I don't think putting the belt on either of them, especially Ishii is helpful.

From reading the results to the past two days Road To shows, it certainly seems like Tom Ishii is going to be at least competing for the vacant title.

Weirdly, I don't think Ibushi is in the mix and even weirder, I don't think anyone is particularly upset or bewildered by that. Considering the year started (which ya know was only FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS AGO) with him being coronated as the man in NJPW, it's strange how quietly he's just shuffled back to the upper mid card.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Will Ospreay Shows X-Ray Of His Neck, Says He Has A Long-Term Deal With NJPW | Fightful News

Will Ospreay spoke highly of NJPW before vacating IWGP World Heavyweight Title.

www.fightful.com

Ospreay is shooting down divorce and leaving NJPW rumors. He's signed with them through 2024.

I really can't see any other promotion indulging Ospreay as much as NJPW does. Maybe ROH but that's a downgrade.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Tama Tonga has also said on twitter that none of the gaijin have said anything to him about being unhappy and he's very happy so if anyone is bitching it's just to the dirt sheets.

I'm sure guys are upset right now but there's a difference between being angry about the situation and blowing some steam off and being so upset they want to leave the company etc.