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SG Bamboo posted:They've planted some seeds I'd guess he might do another angle with Finlay in San Jose to set up a title match at the next US show.
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Jan 7, 2024 14:33
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What the hell is going on with Tama? EVIL is listed as the Never champ on the website now?
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Jan 10, 2024 18:21
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I mean... April isn't that far to Forbidden Door... May is usually BOSJ so the heavyweight champ isn't even on the tour normally...
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Jan 17, 2024 00:30
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Announcing Ospreay vs Okada for San Jose helped there, I think too.
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Jan 18, 2024 21:12
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Pylons posted:So if one of Okada's last matches is putting over one of the young guys, who should it be? Shota and Tsuji both feel like they have their own 'mountains' to climb, Ren Narita kinda just sucks. Is it Uemura by default? Kaito would be my pick if he's jumping over or even if NOAH are continuing to loan him out.
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Jan 19, 2024 17:29
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Chris James 2 posted:Dave brought up a good point on Observer Radio that no matter what they do going forward will carry a big risk I think it's less of a risk with the domestic guys than with the foreign talent because while it's certainly different today than the 1980s, there's still a clear reticence to push people whose English is either limited or has a noticeable accent in the big US companies. Hell, I'm pretty sure that's why Khan and AEW haven't made a play for Giulia. Basically, if WWE end up with both Nakamura and Okada, I wouldn't be overly worried about them making a play for Shota or Tsuji successfully in the near future, because both sides are likely to feel that there's not room.
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Jan 20, 2024 20:16
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Yeah, when's Kiyomiya's deal with NOAH up? Given how little CyberAgent seem to give a poo poo about pushing him versus how polished and finished a product he is, NJPW should probably make a play if he's remotely available.
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Jan 20, 2024 20:42
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Honestly, longer deals might work out for everyone, because you might be able to overpay on the first year, and save money in the long term from the office's standpoint, plus the knowledge that you can push guys without much risk, and the talent get job security and more money short term.
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Jan 21, 2024 19:12
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Honestly, the upcoming shows are gonna be a pretty good buffet of what the promotion has to offer now. You get Okada's farewell tour, the big United Empire/Bullet Club cage match sending off Ospreay, SANADA vs Naito... and Dolph Ziggler in a main event. Also I hope to god they're putting the NEVER title on Shooter because they need to plant a flag with at least a couple of the new guys soon.
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Jan 26, 2024 22:59
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Yeah, Chris is great on commentary and Walker's very enthusiastic which helps a bunch. They'll usually get one of the English speaking wrestlers on commentary too, so HENARE or Rocky Romero or someone.
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Jan 26, 2024 23:26
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Well, much like AEW (and a lot of Japanese promotions, honestly) the big thing in NJPW is factions, the key ones currently being: Los Ingobernables de Japon : The Japanese spin-off of the CMLL based Ingobernables faction which has pretty well outstripped the original in relevance (despite said original being founded by Rush and Andrade) Lead by the current world champion Tetsuya Naito, they started off as a bunch of misfits who were rebelling against the office, full on heels who would cheat and disrespect tradition. Except Naito in particular, and eventually the group as a whole, got over as faces because a lot of Japanese fans related to that feeling of 'gently caress the boss, I tried following the rules and didn't get poo poo'. Current members: Naito, Hiromu Takahashi (junior heavyweight/cruiserweight nutcase who managed to get a cat stuffy over), BUSHI (wears a mask, exists), Titan (actual luchador, is rad), Shingo Takagi (former world champ, built like a brick shithouse, just did a death match with Mox), Yota Tsuji (giant werewolf man who does a rad spear) United Empire: Mainly foreigners, this is Will Ospreay's group. They have a loose 'organised crime family' gimmick, again started as heels (notable for a very poorly received and thought out angle where Ospreay hit his then-girlfriend and current NXT wrestler Bea Priestly with a cutter to show how bad he was) but have sort of gotten over as face-leaning tweeners due to Ospreay being respected. Current members: Ospreay, Aussie Open (both technicalities), Jeff Cobb, TJ Perkins (you might know these two), Great O-Khan (does a quasi Mongol emperor gimmick), HENARE (Maori tough guy), Francisco Akira (Italian pretty boy who developed an edge as part of the group), Callum Newman (low man on the pole currently) and occasional manager Gideon Gray (absolutely obnoxious Callis style heel in the west, but weirdly over as a lil birthday boy comedy heel in Japan) Bullet Club/War Dogs: You probably know Bullet Club. Once Juice and Jay left Japan, the faction was taken over by David Finlay (son of yes, that Finlay) who's had... mixed success with the rebranding of the stable as a group of young, vicious killers. Current members: Finlay (current global champion, think the Intercontinental or International title), Gabe Kidd (loudmouth English hooligan), Clark Connors (weird cowboy guy, looks like Wish.com Adam Page), Drilla Moloney, Alex Coughlin (insanely strong boi with a moustache), and manager Gedo House of Torture: ....look... they're seemingly really over domestically and sell a lot of merch. Basically HEAAAAT the stable. A splinter group of Bullet Club featuring mostly the original group's Japanese membership, led by former LIJ member, ex-world champ and current NEVER champion (kind of the tertiary singles title) EVIL. Current members: EVIL, SHO (former Rocky Romero protege turned wrench wielding gremlin), Yujiro Takahashi, Dick Togo (assistant booker and part time wrestler), Yoshinobu Kanemaru (lowkey excellent cruiser with a 'guy swilling whiskey on the front stoop' kind of gimmick), Ren Narita (former protege of Katsuyori Shibata who recently turned heel) Just 5 Guys: The newest group, led by former LIJ member SANADA and the remnants of Minoru Suzuki's Suzuki-gun. Despite being formed from the heelish Suzuki-gun and a vague betrayal of Naito, they're up there with LIJ as pretty much pure faces. Current members: SANADA, Taichi (has kind of a J-pop idol gimmick), TAKA Michinoku (you probably know him), DOUKI (forum fave, little goblin of a Japanese lucha guy who carries a pipe), Yuya Uemura (young guy who spent the last few years in TNA) TMDK : The Mighty Don't Kneel. Punk themed group led by Zack Sabre Jr, made of foreign guys that initially shared history in NOAH Current members: ZSJ, Mikey Nichols and Shane Haste (sometimes referred to as TMDK on their own, long time Aussie tag team), Bad Dude Tito (US indie guy, good hoss), Robbie Eagles (fantastic Aussie flyer), Kosei Fujita (young guy Zack took under his wing initially to gently caress with another wrestler on the roster during an angle, has developed into him graduating to the 'main roster' as a legit member of the group) CHAOS: Dunno what this is, sounds fake. Gaz-L fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Jan 27, 2024 |
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Jan 27, 2024 02:10
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Also, like, with SHO, Nobu and Narita, the House actually has more good wrestlers than bad now.
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Jan 28, 2024 01:10
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Count Thrashula posted:Evil... TURNED heel? I'm gonna have to read up on the history of that guy if he wasn't always a heel with his schtick He was part of LIJ and so turned babyface when the rest of that group did in about 2018 or so? He was basically babyface Undertaker, spooky druid gear, grim reaper scythe, just better in the ring.
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Jan 28, 2024 01:35
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Count Thrashula posted:That's insane. I knew there's some obvious overlap of NJPW/AEW Bullet Club stuff but that's a stacked lineage. If it's on the updated NJPW World, I'd definitely check out the Lovers vs the Bucks from one of the San Jose shows.
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Jan 29, 2024 19:32
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while he's out I might get caught up on his run in the Golden Lovers from old VOD stuff.
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Germansimp posted:Only if it turns out he was running BC all along and was just using Finlay as a scapegoat/distraction while he prepared himself to dethrone Naito and become the real champion of Bullet Club.
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Jan 29, 2024 20:12
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The UE vs War Dogs cage match is being done under War Games rules, neat!
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Feb 6, 2024 17:40
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I could see ZSJ beating Danielson and calling out Okada for the 24th. If Okada's in full 'gently caress them kids' mode and won't put over Kaito, Shota or Fujita, then may as well see if he'll lie down for Zack.
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Feb 11, 2024 02:35
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Chris James 2 posted:Backstage Danielson admitted he's not the greatest technical wrestler in the world anymore, it's ZSJ The best part is even counting the previous matches from 15 years ago? They're still even. 3 falls a piece
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Feb 11, 2024 21:13
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apophenium posted:I just watched the replay and when Bone Soldier Jr. did the salute Walker said "Whoa! Okay." and then went on to describe some changes to the card Probably the only way to actually deal with it, tbh. He seems like a smart young man with a good head on his shoulders.
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Feb 12, 2024 20:44
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NienNunb posted:I don’t wish to speak hyperbolically but that Danielson/Sabre match is the best match I’ve seen since the start of the Pandemic Huh. For me it's only the best match I've seen since the first one.
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Feb 12, 2024 23:35
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ZSJ and Naito are maybe the most established rivalry in the promotion right now, so I'd say pull the trigger, Zack deserves it, and he could drop it at Dominion pretty comfortably. Hell, put him defending 2 out of 3 falls against Danielson on the Ontario or Chicago shows and you could probably sell out either building.
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Feb 13, 2024 03:56
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Sooper Gila posted:Yeah I was pretty impressed with Nemeth, I'd heard him compared to Curt Henning a lot and I can see that, his selling was fantastic. I was glad to see him for the first time with someone like Finlay as I can get a better idea how good he is. His offense is still really American, I think he'd likely fit in better in AEW or TNA than here unless he changes that up a bit though. Yeah, his big influences are pretty nakedly Hennig and Michaels Honestly that makes Tanahashi maybe making the call to bring him in make sense. Gaz-L fucked around with this message at 13:32 on Feb 23, 2024 |
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Feb 23, 2024 13:23
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bloodysabbath posted:Christ there’s no one left Eh, Suzuki's not washed but he's clearly been shunted to Dad territory and I doubt he's happy there.
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Feb 23, 2024 18:47
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Power Windows posted:Yes No No Harsh on GOD.
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Feb 23, 2024 21:48
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It's also kind of fascinating that they clearly know that the HOT aren't over in the West, given that they're never booked on any of the NJPW US shows or Forbidden Door. But they're also not really willing to put them over on top again either domestically, so... like... they're just kind of 2017 Suzuki-Gun but without the 'we're killers between the ropes who just love fighting too much to stop' vibes?
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Feb 24, 2024 02:09
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There's a world where I can see Perry make the semis, actually. If he beats Shota, the next guy he should plausibly lose to is SANADA. And they do have history from last year's Forbidden Door...
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Feb 26, 2024 16:21
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Ziggler vs Tana is on for Sakura Genesis, btw. Bad form, btw, spoiling that he won't lose the belt in TNA 
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Feb 26, 2024 19:20
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Dango Bango posted:I'll chime in as an AEW fan who used to watch NJPW but fell off hard during the pandemic. It's this: That was me. I think it was the AEW hellthread, actually. I was saying Tony Khan has a tendency to do the same, mostly thinking of guys like Lee Moriarty, the Martins and until very recently, Danny Garcia.
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Feb 27, 2024 01:02
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Honestly, Nic Nemeth's biggest issue is he'd been in the fed for far too loving long past the point that anyone either in the audience or behind the scenes gave a poo poo. Like, he's never been bad in the ring, albeit very blatant about who he's cribbed from, but after the 25th time in WWE he cut the nearly-crying "I'm gonna put it all on the line ONE. MORE. TIME!" promo who on earth could care about him. (I pointedly remember him doing about 4 of these in a feud with the Miz about 5 years ago, leading to a 'he wins or gets fired' stip and everyone in PSP wanted him to lose. He was the babyface)
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Feb 27, 2024 17:26
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The man called M posted:Just wondering, I know New Japan is in a state of change, but why are most if not all of you saying, "I wish New Japan would push (Insert Gaijin here)!" It's making it sound like you just want classic All Japan but without the Four Pillars!  I think pretty much everyone's been saying 'they should push Shota/Tsuji/Uemura'?
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Feb 27, 2024 18:38
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Burn Down Canberra posted:Yeah I don't quite get the take the title off naito asap discourse from the English speaking fanbase. I appreciate his eyeball/knee/straw hair isn't long for this world but they absolutely need him on top. No one's saying Shota absolutely needs to win the world title but they need to plant a flag soon to show that Naito isn't the basket holding literally every egg. It'd be a big swing, and leaving it on Naito is absolutely safer, but putting it on Mox and then having him pass the torch to Shota would be bold and could cement a new top star who isn't falling apart. Gaz-L fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Feb 28, 2024 |
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Feb 28, 2024 00:12
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forkboy84 posted:...why would you not want Umino getting the rub of beating the top dude in the company, but instead to have him go over a part-timer? 3 reasons: 1 - You can save Naito/Shota for a main event, maybe in Osaka, next year. 2 - In my idea both title changes would be in the US, and Mox is just a bigger star there than Naito. 3 - There's the storyline aspect of Shota beating his mentor to finally come into his own as The Guy. fez_machine posted:lmao every idea a western fan has is put the belt on my fave non-japanese wrestler I didn't say to put the belt on Orange Cassidy or Eddie Kingston, but it would be rad. (Also my idea was to use the non-Japanese wrestler as a belt pillow to put over the young Japanese guy)
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Feb 28, 2024 00:37
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Barry Bluejeans posted:congratulations to your next NJPW World TV champion... I mean, if they desperately want an ex-UFC guy with a wacky line in entrance gear who can grapplefuck... just put it on Filthy Tom?
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Mar 1, 2024 19:15
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MassRafTer posted:Feel bad for the New Japanailures, the action you wish you could get is in CMLL. https://twitter.com/mongo_ebooks/status/1763808880365076702 Answers Me posted:Why does Matt Riddle have a football coach? Lexical ambiguity
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Mar 2, 2024 13:57
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Sooper Gila posted:Select excerpts from this glorious interview: Pfft... finding the world in an atlas is just living by The Man's rules, Naito don't roll like that
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Mar 5, 2024 17:01
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Burn Down Canberra posted:There are certainly things njpw need to improve and they are mostly around the young guys. I just find this sort of disconnect between the English speaking fanbase and the domestic one interesting. The interesting thing is that they're clearly aware that the House doesn't play well outside of Japan seeing as they're basically never booked on the US or UK shows.
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Mar 7, 2024 03:41
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Lily Catts posted:wait, why? that's odd. when is the winner challenging for the title then? Forbidden Door, maybe? Maybe inadvertently spoiling that a foreigner is winning?
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Mar 8, 2024 19:11
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Was there a reason they didn't pull the trigger on Devitt/Balor going up to heavyweight?
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Mar 18, 2024 04:34
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lol gottem
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Apr 6, 2024 12:49
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SG Bamboo posted:Oh yeah, Moxley's here Let's be honest this is why he's here in the first place
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Apr 6, 2024 12:52
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