Puroresu Love & Resources V3

[cobainwasmurdered]

The time to start calling out this stuff was when Shibata almost died. Things have just kept escalating and tbh Dave has encouraged a lot of it (not that Naito and Ibushi are people who care but US Indy guys in some cases do), I'm not saying he is responsible for people getting hurt or anything but I do think it's funny he just now seems to be realizing guys are out of control.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

The time to start calling out this stuff was when Shibata almost died. Things have just kept escalating and tbh Dave has encouraged a lot of it (not that Naito and Ibushi are people who care but US Indy guys in some cases do), I'm not saying he is responsible for people getting hurt or anything but I do think it's funny he just now seems to be realizing guys are out of control.

He's been critical of all the head bumps in all the Naito/Ibushi matches. He also called out Ospreay multiple times basically saying the thing holding him back from being the best in the world were all the head/neck bumps he was taking. He's always been against that.

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

My favorite take from that exchange was when Meltzer (or was it Alvarez?) pretty much said "don't praise this match because if you do, it just encourages other wrestlers to keep doing that stupid shit".

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

The time to start calling out this stuff was when Shibata almost died. Things have just kept escalating and tbh Dave has encouraged a lot of it (not that Naito and Ibushi are people who care but US Indy guys in some cases do), I'm not saying he is responsible for people getting hurt or anything but I do think it's funny he just now seems to be realizing guys are out of control.

He's been critical of all the head bumps in all the Naito/Ibushi matches. He also called out Ospreay multiple times basically saying the thing holding him back from being the best in the world were all the head/neck bumps he was taking. He's always been against that.

He's been critical while also calling them top 5 guys and all kinds of other stuff and throwing every snowflake at them. It's sort of a mixed message to me. If you say he's been more critical though I'll believe you.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

My favorite take from that exchange was when Meltzer (or was it Alvarez?) pretty much said "don't praise this match because if you do, it just encourages other wrestlers to keep doing that stupid shit".

See that's what I mean because these guys might say "this goes too far don't do it" and then give the match a crazy star rating and say they're one of the top 5 workers in the world. I have an issue with that because it sends a message to everyone else that that is how you get noticed.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

You can be highly critical and give matches high ratings and still be upset by those particular spots. I had watched the match long after I saw the head bump. It was an awful bump, but before that and even after that, it was still a great match. It doesn't mean I want them to do those spots, but I can still enjoy the rest of the match.

And they are top 5 guys, but for some reason whenever they get in the ring with each other, they feel they have to do the head/neck bumps.

I'm listening to the show right now, and Dave even says that they should have stopped the match at that bump.

 

[Slayer]

Ten years...

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAoZa444p8c

pay tribute to Misawa AND watch the awesomeness of TAKEOVER

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Early reports that Gedo has stepped down as NJPW's booker.

I know he's been booker for way way longer than most normal booking runs but timing on this is insane. What the hell is going on!?

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

http://www.prowrestlingsheet.com/njpw-gedo-booked-not-step-down/
Fake News Kamala

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Damn man you got epic news'd. Had me going wtf

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I was like "Man, barring disastrous family emergency, there's no way Gedo is gonna step down just as NJPW seriously ramps up its efforts to promote internationally." It turns out I was right lol.

 

[909]

Nope, they just finally got to the point where former champions and prized signings demand to leave WWE so they can go there, where people who were in the other big promotions are now flocking to NJPW. I don't see him stepping down anytime soon.

I do think he's tossed his two year booking plans out of the window though judging from what's happened in the last six months. A booker can no longer predict what might fall into their lap. I think KENTA is going to be pushed very hard.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

The participants for the 29th G1 Climax tournament have been revealed.
The full list of participants is as follows:

Block A:
Kazuchika Okada
Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Kota Ibushi
EVIL
SANADA
Bad Luck Fale
Lance Archer
Will Ospreay
KENTA

Block B:
Tetsuya Naito
Tomohiro Ishii
Juice Robinson
Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto
Jay White
Jeff Cobb
Shingo Takagi
Taichi
Jon Moxley

This looks like a better distributed setup than last year. I wish Fale had been left out because he really hasn't done anything good in some time. Hopefully SANADA won't get lost in the shuffle with all the big names in A Block. Putting Tana and KENTA in A Block is interesting because I don't know if both of those guys can make it the whole way.

Can't wait to see Moxley vs Taichi and Ishii especially. If NJPW is going for the really huge Dome show then I'd guess the only real options for winners are Ibushi/Naito/Moxley. At the Dome some matches I'd consider would be;

Okada vs Ibushi
Tanahashi Vs Jericho
Naito Vs Jay White (KENTA if he's still healthy is an option)
Ospreay Vs Dragon Lee (Hiromu if he's back)
Moxley Vs Ishii
Liger Vs MiSu (they could do this sooner and do Mox/MiSu and a multiman with all liger's friends instead for the feel good retirement)

There's a bunch of top guys left over and there's stuff that might work better but I think we might see at least some version of that card over the two nights.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

This year is pretty stacked. Would have liked Suzuki in instead of Fale, but whatever. There are some amazing match-ups

KENTA vs Okada, Tanahashi, SANADA, ZSJ, Ospreay, Ibushi
Naito vs Shingo
EVIL vs SANADA
Moxley vs Ishii, Yano (for pure entertainment value), Shingo, Naito, rematch with Juice, Goto, White

Does SANADA get his win over Okada here? It'd be a good idea.

No Ibushi vs Naito is a great thing.

Regarding Liger/MiSu, I would love to see MiSu unmask Liger and we see the return of Kishin Liger during that match.

 

[909]

MiSu apparently can't take back bumps anymore so there's no reason for him to be in G1 at all. Both of those blocks are drawn well with the exception of the constant Tana vs. Okada matches.

I have no doubt that Kishin Liger is coming out during the MiSu singles match.

 

[Slayer]

So we've got the "work horse" block and the "crazy horse" block this year, nice

Definitely the most solid G1 lineup in several years. My minor criticisms are that I'm not fond of Fale still being in (along with the compulsory annual Tana-Fale G1 match) and yet another Tana-Okada match. Archer doesn't really excite me either although I am a little interested to see how he does without DBJ running interference on the outside. No Yoshi-Hashi this year is also a plus.

On the other side, some surprising absences with no MiSu, Kojima or Makabe, though I can understand given those guys' ages and the available stock of younger/newer guys. I know the last couple years I've been wanting Kojima to get a sendoff but it might just not be in the cards with the current crop. In thinking about it also, Tenzan was a three-time champion and he plus Nagata were fixtures in the tourney for nearly two decades so makes sense those two would get special sendoffs. Kojima OTOH was absent from NJ for most of the 00s, so maybe he just doesn't get one after all

Now if Makabe doesn't get any kind of sendoff down the road, barring an injury or his own choice to stay out, I'd be surprised

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

I think one of the more interesting things to talk about is the tag matches. When we have Shingo and Naito, and EVIL and SANADA, who will the seconds be? LIJ usually stay together, and BUSHI is the only one left. If he teams with Naito, who teams with Shingo? If he teams with EVIL, who teams with SANADA? Those should be interesting.

Also, I'd love to see Moxley and Shota vs Taichi and MiSu. It would give people a taste of Moxley vs MiSu for a later US Title match.

I don't mind Archer here. He got a good pop when they made the announcement and he's over in Japan. Fale could take a hike, though. Put in Chase if they need another BC pin taker. Plus his matches would be better.

 

[909]

Fale is in so that people in his block have a rest match. Same for Yano in the other block. I don't care for Fale either but I can't figure out who else fits in that spot.

 

[909]

Taichi was announced to be in a LOT of main events.

IT'S HIS TIME THE REAL ACE IS READY

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

I knew Taichi was a top guy as soon as they started selling his mask.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Here's the breakdown of the G1 Climax Schedule (Spoiled for Length)

Spoiler

July 6 (A Block, Dallas, Texas) --

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA
SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale
Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer

July 13 (B Block, Ota City General Gymnasium, Tokyo) --

Jon Moxley vs. Taichi
Jay White vs. Hirooki Goto
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jeff Cobb
Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
Shingo Takagi vs. Juice Robinson

July 14 (A Block, Ota City General Gymnasium, Tokyo) --

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
Bad Luck Fale vs. Lance Archer
Kota Ibushi vs. EVIL
Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Will Ospreay vs. SANADA

July 15 (B Block, Sapporo) --

Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi
Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Cobb
Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Hirooki Goto vs. Juice Robinson
Shingo Takagi vs. Toru Yano

July 18 (A Block, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo) --

Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay
EVIL vs. SANADA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale
KENTA vs. Lance Archer

July 19 (B Block, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo) --

Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi
Tetsuya Naito vs. Hirooki Goto
Jay White vs. Toru Yano
Juice Robinson vs. Jeff Cobb

July 20 (A Block, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo) --

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
KENTA vs. EVIL
Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bad Luck Fale

July 24 (B Block, Hiroshima) --

Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi
Jay White vs. Jeff Cobb
Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi
Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano

July 27 (A Block, Nagoya) --

Kazuchika Okada vs. KENTA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. EVIL
Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale
Kota Ibushi vs. Lance Archer

July 28 (B Block, Nagoya) --

Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley
Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano
Jay White vs. Shingo Takagi
Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Juice Robinson

July 30 (A Block, Takamatsu) --

KENTA vs. SANADA
Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale

August 1 (B Block, Fukuoka) --

Jay White vs. Taichi
Jon Moxley vs. Toru Yano
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto
Tetsuya Naito vs. Juice Robinson
Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb

August 3 (A Block, Osaka) --

Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi
Will Ospreay vs. EVIL
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Lance Archer
KENTA vs. Bad Luck Fale

August 4 (B Block, Osaka) --

Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi
Jon Moxley vs. Jay White
Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb
Juice Robinson vs. Taichi
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Toru Yano

August 7 (A Block, Hamamatsu) --

Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL
Will Ospreay vs. KENTA
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale
SANADA vs. Lance Archer

August 8 (B Block, Yokohama) --

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi
Toru Yano vs. Taichi
Jay White vs. Juice Robinson
Jon Moxley vs. Hirooki Goto
Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb

August 10 (A Block, Budokan Hall, Tokyo) --

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay
SANADA vs. Bad Luck Fale
EVIL vs. Lance Archer
KENTA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

August 11 (B Block, Budokan Hall, Tokyo) --

Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay White
Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson
Jeff Cobb vs. Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi

August 12 (Budokan Hall, Tokyo) --

A Block winner vs. B Block winner in the G1 finals

 

[909]

I think Naito will beat Tana in the final to win. My presumption is that they kept them apart for two years for that reason.

The other possibility is White vs. Ibushi.

 

[Broward83]

Ibushi vs Naito with Naito winning in order to have him end WK as Double Champion. Following night, Sanada breaks from LIJ and attacks Naito. Looks to both of the fallen belts and hesitates before picking up the IC title.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Got Balcony tickets for Super J!!

 

[909]

Got Balcony tickets for Super J!!

Bah gawd CWM GOES STATESIDE TO SEE REAL WRESTLING

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

Fucking excited. Hopefully they start announcing participants soon.

 

[909]

Ospreay said he was going to be in it, so my assumption is that all of NJPW's top juniors will be in without exception.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Just catching up on the G1 Special now. Been a while since I've seen Archer but fairly impressive that his tramp stamp has evolved.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Had to go run some errands and jumping back into my recording of last night's show. I want to praise this Kevin Kelly/ Rocky Romero commentary team. I don't recall hearing Rocky on commentary before but I thought he did a damn fine job. I liked how during the 3K match he stayed consistent to his character in showing concern for his team but not being overly/ distractingly biased or grating as those in other companies can be in similar spots.

Addtionally, Kevin Kelly did a really good job of calling the action and educating those new to the product without insulting or irritating people who have been around. The key example of this to me was during the EVIL/Fale match, he was pointing out the longer leash NJPW officials allow wrestlers to have and how you really have to do something "felonious" to get a DQ - then transitioned that into putting over Fale by talking about how he was dastardly enough to get DQed six times in last year's tournament. I just felt that was really good story-telling, putting over the product and character and essentially everything you'd want in a commentator.

I'm used to watching NJPW through AXS so it was that rough Ross/Barnett team and even the Don Callis appearances, which I am not a fan of Don Callis. Really enjoyed the commentary on this, which I can't remember last time I said that as even my favorite brand (NXT) has some commentary that gets really, really distracting at times.