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Post by Sparvid on Apr 6, 2015 1:13:22 GMT -5
Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Amber Gallows vs Michael Bennett Matt Taven & Maria Kanellis I didn't realize this at first, but apparently this is the first NJPW match involving female wrestlers since Chyna's short run in 2002.
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Post by Raskovnik on Apr 6, 2015 1:26:47 GMT -5
Man, earlier I was just thinking about how big this year's G1 tournament is going to be and I got super excited. It's basically my Christmas.
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Post by berlynwright on Apr 6, 2015 1:58:57 GMT -5
AJ Styles/Okada has been set for huge Dominion Osaka show.
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Post by radiantsilvergun on Apr 6, 2015 3:34:41 GMT -5
Was there a segment on the show that said ADR was doing the G1 tournament? A few people have been talking about this on the net but the only place it's been reported is some recap on a blog. Doesn't seem to be true, got excited for nothing
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Apr 6, 2015 7:11:05 GMT -5
Hmmm, by the look of things Okada's winning the belt back at Dominion. I'm not agreeing with that, AJ should have a long reign with multiple defenses and it looks like their falling back into old habits.
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Post by Digital Witness on Apr 6, 2015 8:45:09 GMT -5
AJ could get the win here and further what I think may be a full blown Rainmaker heel run where he turns on Chaos. Might be how we get Swagsuke/Okada, as an IC title match rather than a heavyweight title match.
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Post by berlynwright on Apr 6, 2015 9:11:16 GMT -5
List of combined reigns
12 Antonio Inoki 1 4 325 13 Brock Lesnar 1 3 280 14 A.J. Styles† 2 3 217+
AJ will overtake Lesnar if he holds the title until Dominion.
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AdamAFL was sooooo wrong
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Post by AdamAFL was sooooo wrong on Apr 6, 2015 9:19:22 GMT -5
AJ could get the win here and further what I think may be a full blown Rainmaker heel run where he turns on Chaos. Might be how we get Swagsuke/Okada, as an IC title match rather than a heavyweight title match. I wouldn't mind that in the slightest but if you're going to do a CHAOS implosion leading to a Naka/Okada feud surely the smart thing would be to do it for the Heavyweight Title at the Dome Show next year.
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Post by Digital Witness on Apr 6, 2015 9:23:29 GMT -5
AJ could get the win here and further what I think may be a full blown Rainmaker heel run where he turns on Chaos. Might be how we get Swagsuke/Okada, as an IC title match rather than a heavyweight title match. I wouldn't mind that in the slightest but if you're going to do a CHAOS implosion leading to a Naka/Okada feud surely the smart thing would be to do it for the Heavyweight Title at the Dome Show next year. Due to Nakamura building the status of the IC belt the way that he has, I think it would be fitting for Okada to go after Nakamura's most prized possession.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Apr 6, 2015 14:32:08 GMT -5
I'd like for AJ to hold onto the IWGP belt for at least til after The G1 and make multiple defenses there and in ROH.
The fact that he and Ibushi sold out Sumo Hall helps show that they don't have to rely on The Holy Trio for every show and keep on using them as crutches.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Apr 6, 2015 16:29:27 GMT -5
Since Sho and Yohei are on the verge of breaking out, why not dangle a carrot before them since BOSJ is after Dontaku and the Jr Heavyweight roster is rather thin. Have the two face one another at the show on the 29th show with the winner getting a slot in it or something. Makes things more interesting and its a way to see if they are ready for the big time.
Also since Mascara is CMLL Welterweight Champ, why not have him defend it as well against someone like Tonga or those who don't have anything going right now.
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Jeff Mangum PI
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Post by Jeff Mangum PI on Apr 6, 2015 17:40:16 GMT -5
Being real for a sec, I don't hate Okada. I think he's one of the best wrestlers on the planet and he's only 26, but I just hate how everything revolves around him. You would think that after WK9, Okada's story would be that he would start from the bottom, win some good 1-on-1 PPV matches, then win G1 Climax 25 to get a shot at AJ and the Hvt. belt. But nope! Just 3 months later, Okada's back in the main event for another title shot. And it's pretty obvious that Okada's gonna go over, all setting up for WrestleKingdom 10 where Okada retains against Tanahashi and proves he's the Rainmaker and the new Ace of NJPW and whatever. I just want some new stuff from NJPW. Lemme see some Hvt. title matches with Naito or Shinsuke or Goto or Shibata. Just anything but another f***ing Okada/Tanahashi match.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Apr 6, 2015 18:26:53 GMT -5
Exactly, Okada has his whole career ahead of him. He doesn't always need to be in the IWGP Heavyweight picture. He could go for The IC Belt, find a partner to go for the tag belts, or be the first NEVER Champion to actually be under 30 for once. There's plenty of things he could do instead.
New Japan can risk alienating their fanbase and their roster if they are insistent on putting him in the main event and world title all the time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2015 20:02:09 GMT -5
You guys are watching the wrong promotion if you expect the heavyweight title scene to not revolve around 1 or 2 guys. That's pretty much how things have always been done over there. Alienating their fanbase? Okada/Tanahashi at the last Tokyo Dome show drew their biggest crowd in like 15 years.
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PL23
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Post by PL23 on Apr 7, 2015 3:23:17 GMT -5
That's not how things are done over in Japan though. Sure, there's always the top 3/4 in the promotion who are a massive part of the title scene, but under good booking, the title moves around. Your example certainly applies to All Japan in the 90's, where Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi and Taue shared the Triple Crown around, but that's because Baba was extremely reluctant to do anything with other promotions, and as a result, it was just the Four Corners.
If you look at the mid/late 90's/early 2000's IWGP Heavyweight reigns, you see the amount of variation. Sure, Hashimoto and Mutoh have a few reigns, but they were the top 'home' wrestlers. On top of them, Takada, Sasaki, Chono, Fujinami, Tenryu and Norton all hold the belt from 96 until the end of 1999 when Tenryu beat Mutoh.
Now, it's just Tana/Okada ad nauseum, which is really starting to irritate people, when there's options they could push, to at least have some variation in the big title matches.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2015 9:12:42 GMT -5
Slowly getting caught up on NJ attack as the weekend was really busy. RPG Vice vs YB was really fun. Trent's one of those guys that its really cool he was able to find success outside WWE. {Spoiler} winning NJPW Jr Tag titles with Romero has got to be a great boon for him after all these years. Guy seemed legit nervous and stoked to be in this match. {Spoiler}
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Apr 7, 2015 9:41:55 GMT -5
That's not how things are done over in Japan though. Sure, there's always the top 3/4 in the promotion who are a massive part of the title scene, but under good booking, the title moves around. Your example certainly applies to All Japan in the 90's, where Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi and Taue shared the Triple Crown around, but that's because Baba was extremely reluctant to do anything with other promotions, and as a result, it was just the Four Corners. If you look at the mid/late 90's/early 2000's IWGP Heavyweight reigns, you see the amount of variation. Sure, Hashimoto and Mutoh have a few reigns, but they were the top 'home' wrestlers. On top of them, Takada, Sasaki, Chono, Fujinami, Tenryu and Norton all hold the belt from 96 until the end of 1999 when Tenryu beat Mutoh. Now, it's just Tana/Okada ad nauseum, which is really starting to irritate people, when there's options they could push, to at least have some variation in the big title matches. Correct, The Four Pillars were some of the best talent in the world but when age and injuries caught up to them, that's when AJPW's decay began to set in as they had no one to replace them. Whilst today in NJPW there's plenty of talent that could be in the IWGP Heavyweight picture but they haven't opted to pull the trigger on them. Last Sunday was the first time that The Main event of a PPV did not feature either Tanahashi, Okada, or Nakamura in years. Don't get me wrong, I love the Tanahashi/Okada series and Nakamura is my favorite guy there has but if New Japan isn't careful, the same thing could happen to them that happened to All Japan.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2015 20:49:40 GMT -5
Omega vs Mascara Dorado was alright. Not Omega's best work. Got a little lucha sloppy in places, but still fun to watch. Omega's a beast! and him vs Shelly should be a good feud in New Japan. His post-match promo on Shelly was gold!! "I am the master of the dark custodial arts. I've cleaned up Japanese trash. I've cleaned up Mexican trash. and now I'm going to clean up the worst trash of all - AMERICAN trash. Motor City trash."
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Post by Raskovnik on Apr 7, 2015 22:00:56 GMT -5
I'm still hoping for Shibata (and Goto) to have their days one day. I also wish Shibata had a shirt.
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Post by Digital Witness on Apr 7, 2015 22:46:51 GMT -5
I'm still hoping for Shibata (and Goto) to have their days one day. I also wish Shibata had a shirt. I don't see this happening for Goto, but I'd be shocked if Shibata don't get a decent reign down the line. He's too damn good not to. As for New Japan just being the Okada/Tanahashi/Nakamura show, I think that's changing. Styles isn't going anywhere and is basically the number one heel in New Japan. The money's great and WWE doesn't have any interest. Styles is going to cement his legacy with New Japan as their top gaijin draw of this decade. Kota Ibushi has also had a break out year between winning the New Japan Cup, his great match with Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom, and his recent match with Styles. Ibushi is definitely going to be IWGP heavyweight champion at some point. Another way I think New Japan will eventually go eventually is perhaps a Styles face turn. If that happens, I think Karl Anderson gets a main event push out of it as the leader of Bullet Club. I remember when Anderson made it to the finals of the G1 against Okada and he looked like a star. I could easily see him becoming an IWGP heavyweight champion. Also, with New Japan having a large stake in NOAH, if not outright owning it, they could bring in Marufuji, Morishima, or Sugiura and build them up quickly. Marufuji vs Okada and Marufuji vs Styles would be solid gold. One more thing that's not guaranteed but rumored is New Japan acquiring the services of Alberto El Patron. That right there would be a huge coup for New Japan. The guy puts asses in seats and is already an international star that works a style very compatible to that of guys on their roster.
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