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Post by Raskovnik on Oct 12, 2015 10:48:04 GMT -5
Who else really enjoyed Matt Striker calling YOSHI-HASHI "Hashi" on commentary, as well as him explaining the concept of fighting spirit by comparing it to a health meter in a video game while Kevin Kelly awkwardly coughed or something after he was done?
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PL23
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Post by PL23 on Oct 12, 2015 11:09:51 GMT -5
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}Ishii with the NEVER belt again? Really? {Spoiler}At least this allows him to keep having ridiculous matches that ensure he won't be able to walk in 15-20 years time. You'd think he'd have noticed what that style did to Misawa, Kobashi and Taue. Plus, unlike their matches, Ishii's are all the same.
Predictable, bland and boring again. At least the angle they're doing with Naito looks interesting. That's it though.
Attendance isn't amazing too. 8,302 isn't bad, but it's a drop.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 12, 2015 12:29:50 GMT -5
{Spoiler} King of Pro Wrestling October 12th, 2015 | Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 8,302
Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mask def. David Finlay, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu in 8:47 In an interesting start to the show, the young lions attacked their opponents right at the bell. They did a pretty good job playing the heels throughout this. Juice Robinson got more time to shine in this match than usual, which might be because he officially signed a new deal. He seemed more comfortable but still hasn't wowed just yet. The only thing I didn't really like was Taguchi as he's never entertaining. Mascara Dorada was able to get the pin for his team in what I would consider a fun opener. That was all I wanted from this. ***
Tomoaki Honma def. YOSHI-HASHI in 8:55 As usual, Tomoaki Honma was his insanely over self. YOSHI-HASHI is someone that I don't know much about, but I did rather enjoy his singles match against Michael Elgin during the G1 Finals. I also enjoyed this match. It featured the typical Honma fun, which was enjoyable and made better by the aforementioned hot crowd. Honma picked up the victory following a really fun finishing sequence. I suspect he moves into some sort of big match at Wrestle Kingdom since he's so incredibly over. ***¼
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata def. Captain New Japan, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata and Kota Ibushi in 12:12 Another standard New Japan multi-man tag team match. Granted, I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing. These are usually solid and this was no different. What impressed me here was seeing these guys go at it like there were big time feuds in the middle of all of this. Shibata and Nagata were absolutely beating on each other throughout. I bought into a fair amount of the false finishes throughout this, even one from Captain New Japan. Think about that. Of course, once he got left in the ring alone though, I knew the finish was coming. The winning team hit him with two double team moves, possibly setting up for the Tag League. I just wish Kota Ibushi was doing more. He's had a fantastic year and deserves something big heading into WK10. ***
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: reDRagon (c) def. Roppongi Vice in 15:21 As I've mentioned before, the Jr. Heavyweight divisions are a bit of a problem point for me. The tag division has been a revolving door of four teams, but the right guys hold the belts right now. reDRagon are a breath of fresh air in this division, breaking up the monotony that the other three teams seem to bring. I enjoyed this match but it wasn't on the level of the last two reDRagon matches against the other two teams in the division. I think some new teams need to be brought in because a lot of this stuff seems to be things we've seen over and over again. There was a cool double leg lock spot between Kyle O'Reilly and Rocky Romero where Bobby Fish and Baretta stomped on their opponents. That was pretty cool. The finish was incredibly awkward though as it seemed like the pin was broken up but the three was counted. **¾
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega (c) def. Matt Sydal in 15:26 I don't get the love for Kenny Omega and I haven't seen first seeing him in 2009. It's hard to get into his matches as he overacts everything in such a campy way that it's off-putting. It's like, overdoing things in the worst possible way. This division is in DIRE need of some variety. The only Jr. Title matches I've really liked this year were Omega/KUSHIDA at Dominion and KUSHIDA/Ricochet. Still, the division is really only Omega, KUSHIDA, Sydal and sometimes Ricochet. They need some new talent, especially a technician similar to how Dean Malenko helped the WCW cruiserweights. Anyway, the match itself wasn't very good. I've seen some people give it more than four stars and I'm confused. Omega controlling the match was dull and the crowd did not care, which is probably due to the lackluster division. The finish was pretty cool though, picking up steam and keeping Sydal strong. Still, not a match that I would go out of my way to see. **½
Kazushi Sakuraba, Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano def. Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson in 7:03 This was mainly here to build towards the eventual Shinsuke Nakamura/Karl Anderson Intercontinental Title match. It was kept short and entertained throughout. Anderson was playing the dick heel very well, shouting at commentary that Nakamura sucks. These guys did their work, Toru Yano was his comedic self and rolled up Fale to win. Simple, but effective. I really do hope that the Anderson/Nakamura program is a bridge to Nakamura/Styles at Wrestle Kingdom. They are the only guys to have never faced of the "big four" in NJPW. ***
NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii def. Togi Makabe in 17:54 Going into this show, I was not looking forward to this match. Tomohiro Ishii and Togi Makabe have wrestled more than enough this year and none of them really stood out to me. However, they were on their game in this one. I feel like this was their best match together this year. As one would expect in a match between these two, they beat the f*** out of each other. Ishii even busted out Makabe's King Kong knee drop at one point. For the most part, they didn't do anything really new, but something about this just worked. Ishii was able to take back the title and Tomoaki Honma came out after the bout. Hopefully this sets up one more Ishii/Honma match, maybe in the Tokyo Dome, as they work magic together. ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Tetsuya Naito in 19:54 I have to commend the excellent video package that aired before the match, going all the way back to the finals of the G1 Climax in 2013. Two men in suits and masks came out, with one being Tetsuya Naito and the other not revealing himself, but staying at ringside. They worked a slow build match, with Naito being fantastic as the dick heel once again. He just nails this in a way that not many people are nailing their characters. This was moving into great status when we got a ref bump. The second man revealed himself to be Takaaki Watanabe. They beat on Tanahashi until Shibata and Goto run out, giving us a brawl. During this scuffle, Tanahashi won with the High Fly Flow. Really good match hampered by the interference in the end. ***¾
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) def. AJ Styles in 30:15 There have been plenty of matches between these two men, but the two that I have seen were in the G1 Climax 24 and at Dominion. I thought the former was good and the latter was great, in my top 10 matches this year. I'd put this match in the middle of those. Similar to the last match, there was a fair amount of Bullet Club involvement throughout. I get that they're heels, I really do, but it ends up hurting the match when it is overdone. That's what made their Dominion match so good. The interference was kept to a relative minimum. As usual with Okada matches, this was good but didn't cross into great territory until the finishing sequence. Again, it wasn't on the level of the finish at Dominion, but was pretty great and saw Okada win with three Rainmakers. ****
Overall: 8/10. A really good effort from New Japan again. I've noted it before and a lot of people share this feeling, but the in ring work nearly always delivers with this company, while the booking is sometimes strange. I agreed with most of the decisions here and overall, the show delivers. The only things that I thought were skippable were the Jr. matches. Nothing was MOTY level, but there were two really damn good matches, surrounded by mostly fun stuff.
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Post by ________ has left the building on Oct 12, 2015 16:24:54 GMT -5
Who else really enjoyed Matt Striker calling YOSHI-HASHI "Hashi" on commentary, as well as him explaining the concept of fighting spirit by comparing it to a health meter in a video game while Kevin Kelly awkwardly coughed or something after he was done? They should had got Ross and Ranallo for the show like most thought they would.
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Post by ________ has left the building on Oct 12, 2015 16:32:19 GMT -5
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}Ishii with the NEVER belt again? Really? {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}At least this allows him to keep having ridiculous matches that ensure he won't be able to walk in 15-20 years time. You'd think he'd have noticed what that style did to Misawa, Kobashi and Taue. Plus, unlike their matches, Ishii's are all the same.
Predictable, bland and boring again. At least the angle they're doing with Naito looks interesting. That's it though.
Attendance isn't amazing too. 8,302 isn't bad, but it's a drop.
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}You giving Ishii too much credit to be able to walk within 10 years. Most of New Japan folks are iffy physically right now. Honma got a jacked up back. We may wind up with no Never title match at Wrestle Kingdom due to both participants not able to perform. And the stagnantness is kicking in. Yeah, you get good to great matches but it's getting played out. They need to go ahead and sign Go. Hell, bring in Manbaby Elgin as a regular. People harp on WWE being predictable but you can set your watch to booking and matches with current New Japan.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Oct 12, 2015 18:02:53 GMT -5
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler} AGAIN with Ishii as the NEVER Champion? Just like Nakamura and The IC belt, it seems the belt automatically goes back to him anymore
I was hoping for Honma and Makabe to face one another.
Bit surprised to see Watanabe back and as a member of Los Ingobernabies, I thought he would return in 2016. {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler} I'm assuming Watanabe (and hopefully Kamaitachi) are being called back early to allow Komatsu & Tanaka to go out on excursion. Hope Yohei goes to Mexico myself. I believe Yohei requested that he be sent to CMLL when he goes on his. Kamaitachi I think will be back by Fantasticamania. I believe he's said he's heading back to New Japan at the end of the year. He's been having great matches with Dragon Lee
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Post by Mondai Rogue on Oct 12, 2015 18:08:55 GMT -5
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler} I'm assuming Watanabe (and hopefully Kamaitachi) are being called back early to allow Komatsu & Tanaka to go out on excursion. Hope Yohei goes to Mexico myself. I believe Yohei requested that he be sent to CMLL when he goes on his. Kamaitachi I think will be back by Fantasticamania. I believe he's said he's heading back to New Japan at the end of the year. He's been having great matches with Dragon Lee So Yohei to Mexico & Sho to tour the American scene?
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Oct 12, 2015 18:16:39 GMT -5
I believe Yohei requested that he be sent to CMLL when he goes on his. Kamaitachi I think will be back by Fantasticamania. I believe he's said he's heading back to New Japan at the end of the year. He's been having great matches with Dragon Lee So Yohei to Mexico & Sho to tour the American scene? Most likely, Yohei like Hiromu (Kamaitachi) and Kyosuke (El Desperado) will probably be donning a mask during his time there and team up with Okumura. That usually happens there for guys when they are sent on an excursion. Sho like Watanabe will be doing shows occasionally with ROH and other Western promotions.
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Post by Mondai Rogue on Oct 12, 2015 18:22:38 GMT -5
So Yohei to Mexico & Sho to tour the American scene? Most likely, Yohei like Hiromu (Kamaitachi) and Kyosuke (El Desperado) will probably be donning a mask during his time there and team up with Okumura. That usually happens there for guys when they are sent on an excursion. Sho like Watanabe will be doing shows occasionally with ROH and other Western promotions. Wonder if they'd ever send someone over to the UK for an excursion. They've got the well established link with RevPro and they run shows pretty regularly. More chance of a young lion getting on a card there than chancing it in the US.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Oct 12, 2015 18:26:52 GMT -5
Most likely, Yohei like Hiromu (Kamaitachi) and Kyosuke (El Desperado) will probably be donning a mask during his time there and team up with Okumura. That usually happens there for guys when they are sent on an excursion. Sho like Watanabe will be doing shows occasionally with ROH and other Western promotions. Wonder if they'd ever send someone over to the UK for an excursion. They've got the well established link with RevPro and they run shows pretty regularly. More chance of a young lion getting on a card there than chancing it in the US. Depends, they have that new relationship with RPW and WXW now. Watanabe checking his stats one cagematch.net also spent some time wrestling in Canada during his excursion
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Post by Mondai Rogue on Oct 12, 2015 18:36:41 GMT -5
Wonder if they'd ever send someone over to the UK for an excursion. They've got the well established link with RevPro and they run shows pretty regularly. More chance of a young lion getting on a card there than chancing it in the US. Depends, they have that new relationship with RPW and WXW now. Watanabe checking his stats one cagematch.net also spent some time wrestling in Canada during his excursion I think it'd be pretty cool to see Sho over in the UK/Europe. Good chance to learn how to work a crowd because most UK/WXW crowds are pretty vocal and it's all about interaction with them. Plus there is a cracking amount of talented lads over here he'd get to work on a weekly basis.
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PL23
AC Slater
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Post by PL23 on Oct 13, 2015 4:04:55 GMT -5
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}They need to go ahead and sign Go. Hell, bring in Manbaby Elgin as a regular. People harp on WWE being predictable but you can set your watch to booking and matches with current New Japan. The problem is, if Go Shiozaki comes in I can just see him muddying the waters in that level below Tana/Okada/Shinsuke/AJ where literally all the rest of the roster just rotates around. I remember being ridiculously excited for Sakuraba coming in with Shibata. Outside of an epic match vs. Shinsuke at WK7, he's done very little. Also, Mondai Rogue, I believe Hiromu spent some time over in the UK before making his way over to CMLL. Problem is, the majority of the young lions and even wrestlers like Naito seem to come back from CMLL refreshed and reinvigorated, and therefore it's become a huge part of their development. The CMLL deal works so well for New Japan.
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Post by ________ has left the building on Oct 13, 2015 7:47:44 GMT -5
{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}They need to go ahead and sign Go. Hell, bring in Manbaby Elgin as a regular. People harp on WWE being predictable but you can set your watch to booking and matches with current New Japan. The problem is, if Go Shiozaki comes in I can just see him muddying the waters in that level below Tana/Okada/Shinsuke/AJ where literally all the rest of the roster just rotates around. I remember being ridiculously excited for Sakuraba coming in with Shibata. Outside of an epic match vs. Shinsuke at WK7, he's done very little. Also, Mondai Rogue, I believe Hiromu spent some time over in the UK before making his way over to CMLL. Problem is, the majority of the young lions and even wrestlers like Naito seem to come back from CMLL refreshed and reinvigorated, and therefore it's become a huge part of their development. The CMLL deal works so well for New Japan. That's why they need to overhaul their system. The heavyweight main event is just musical chairs with the same 4 people. I'm not expecting them to go off script because Wrestle Kingdom been decided for about 2 years now. After King of Pro Wrestling: barring anything major, it's cruise control until then. Probably be some outsiders coming like from NOAH for the big show but nothing card destroying. Shibata and Sakuraba came in with a lot of hype but New Japan made it clear that they aren't winning any major accolades anytime soon.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Oct 13, 2015 8:09:10 GMT -5
The Super Junior Tag Tournament is being held with the teams announced for it. The Finals will be held at Power Struggle on November 7th
1st Round
Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs ReDragon
Roppongi Vice vs Kenny Omega and Chase Owens
Mascara Dorada and Ryusuke Taguchi vs The Young Bucks
The Time Splitters vs Ricochet and Matt Sydal
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Post by Mondai Rogue on Oct 13, 2015 15:21:21 GMT -5
The Super Junior Tag Tournament is being held with the teams announced for it. The Finals will be held at Power Struggle on November 7th 1st Round Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs ReDragon Roppongi Vice vs Kenny Omega and Chase Owens Mascara Dorada and Ryusuke Taguchi vs The Young Bucks The Time Splitters vs Ricochet and Matt Sydal Adding onto this, apparently Chase Owens is the newest member of the Bullet Club. Why can't the Bullet Club just die already?
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PL23
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Post by PL23 on Oct 13, 2015 17:31:55 GMT -5
That's why they need to overhaul their system. The heavyweight main event is just musical chairs with the same 4 people. I'm not expecting them to go off script because Wrestle Kingdom been decided for about 2 years now. After King of Pro Wrestling: barring anything major, it's cruise control until then. Probably be some outsiders coming like from NOAH for the big show but nothing card destroying. Shibata and Sakuraba came in with a lot of hype but New Japan made it clear that they aren't winning any major accolades anytime soon. Agreed. Even then, Shinsuke isn't 'main event', he's simply there to carry the shows that aren't IWGP defences on star power and drawing power alone. Below the top 4, there really isn't any hierachy. The fact that Ibushi, who looked set for stardom following WK9 just lost to Makabe for the NEVER title is ridiculous. Even more ridiculous than that, is the fact that Makabe is a former IWGP Champion holding that belt! It's just all parity nonsense. Basically, unless you're in that top 4, you're just 'in the rest'. It never used to be that way. I don't expect them to go off script, like you say, but for heavens sake I'd like to see them actually try to do something different. It's been the same formula now since Okada's first title win. It's boring now. I still despise the G1 Briefcase thing too, but I'm a traditionalist. The G1 winner just challenges at the next big show. It makes the rest of the year beyond predictable, and horrifically boring.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Oct 13, 2015 17:50:05 GMT -5
The Super Junior Tag Tournament is being held with the teams announced for it. The Finals will be held at Power Struggle on November 7th 1st Round Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs ReDragon Roppongi Vice vs Kenny Omega and Chase Owens Mascara Dorada and Ryusuke Taguchi vs The Young Bucks The Time Splitters vs Ricochet and Matt Sydal Adding onto this, apparently Chase Owens is the newest member of the Bullet Club. Why can't the Bullet Club just die already? They didn't say anything about him joining them and I believe it's just a one time thing. Kenny's been slamming NWA guys and their Junior division in interviews like he did on AXS last week.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Oct 13, 2015 17:51:38 GMT -5
That's why they need to overhaul their system. The heavyweight main event is just musical chairs with the same 4 people. I'm not expecting them to go off script because Wrestle Kingdom been decided for about 2 years now. After King of Pro Wrestling: barring anything major, it's cruise control until then. Probably be some outsiders coming like from NOAH for the big show but nothing card destroying. Shibata and Sakuraba came in with a lot of hype but New Japan made it clear that they aren't winning any major accolades anytime soon. Agreed. Even then, Shinsuke isn't 'main event', he's simply there to carry the shows that aren't IWGP defences on star power and drawing power alone. Below the top 4, there really isn't any hierachy. The fact that Ibushi, who looked set for stardom following WK9 just lost to Makabe for the NEVER title is ridiculous. Even more ridiculous than that, is the fact that Makabe is a former IWGP Champion holding that belt! It's just all parity nonsense. Basically, unless you're in that top 4, you're just 'in the rest'. It never used to be that way. I don't expect them to go off script, like you say, but for heavens sake I'd like to see them actually try to do something different. It's been the same formula now since Okada's first title win. It's boring now. I still despise the G1 Briefcase thing too, but I'm a traditionalist. The G1 winner just challenges at the next big show. It makes the rest of the year beyond predictable, and horrifically boring. Ibushi, Shibata, and Goto all looked to be breaking out this year, but look what happened. And as if to make a point that they're not going anywhere, they had them team and lose with Captain New Japan yesterday. They are flat out refusing to make them be the stars everyone knows they can be. Shibata because they can't let go of grudges, Goto because he's friends with Shibata, and Ibushi, apparently they've got this concept that if they make him champion he'll go and dump the belt in a waste basket on a DDT show or something. There's no reason for them to be in the lower midcard roles Gedo is insisting on putting them in.
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Post by Mondai Rogue on Oct 13, 2015 17:56:57 GMT -5
Adding onto this, apparently Chase Owens is the newest member of the Bullet Club. Why can't the Bullet Club just die already? They didn't say anything about him joining them and I believe it's just a one time thing. Kenny's been slamming NWA guys and their Junior division in interviews like he did on AXS last week. There is this from Chase Owens. So I'm taking it as he's in the BC until told otherwise. Although it could be a case of as soon as him and Omega lose, he's out.
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PL23
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Post by PL23 on Oct 13, 2015 18:32:28 GMT -5
Ibushi, Shibata, and Goto all looked to be breaking out this year, but look what happened. And as if to make a point that they're not going anywhere, they had them team and lose with Captain New Japan yesterday. They are flat out refusing to make them be the stars everyone knows they can be. Shibata because they can't let go of grudges, Goto because he's friends with Shibata, and Ibushi, apparently they've got this concept that if they make him champion he'll go and dump the belt in a waste basket on a DDT show or something. There's no reason for them to be in the lower midcard roles Gedo is insisting on putting them in. Ibushi will break out, he's just been booked very badly. He was put against Shinsuke at WK9 for a reason, and I really wouldn't be surprised to see a rematch at WK10, or at the very least a big singles match. Ideally, I'd like to see Shinsuke/Naito (to continue their great rivalry) at WK10, but I doubt they'll go that way. Ibushi has been a star for years now. Crowds just have this innate love for him, and I saw that very early on. I still think he should have stayed a Jr though. Ibushi graduating to heavyweight did just as much damage to the Jr. division as the nonsense with Bullet Club where Devitt was wrestling heavies, but wasn't a heavy. Remember though, Ibushi is 33, he isn't as young as everyone thinks. He's only two years younger than Shinsuke. Shibata, I can totally understand. Whilst I think he's fantastic and the best brawler in wrestling, he left New Japan high and dry before, and they know he would just as easily do it again. I don't really blame them for not strongly pushing him. New Japan doesn't forget things like that, and never has. It's the one way they've retained tradition. I don't think Goto was going to really break out this year. You can't really call winning the IC belt 'breaking out'. Goto was screwed years ago, when Okada's superpush happened, and Goto was forgotten. It was his turn for a strong push, and he'd come back from an excursion all fired up, with a great new look and had a great title match with Tana midway through the year. After that, the midcard became diluted with so many people coming in, and he just defined 'lost in the shuffle'. People forget, but it used to be called the 'Four Heroes' in Tana, Shinsuke, Goto and Makabe. How times have changed. More than anything, it's just boring status quo booking with very little progression. It's not that people are being 'held down' as such, it's just that the booking is beyond lazy. Naito is the only thing I'm finding interesting right now, because it's actually something NEW.
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