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Post by The Kevstaaa on Aug 12, 2019 19:07:02 GMT -5
That's what I meant, I guess. Like, I feel it was more outrageous for him to lose at WK. That's when people should have been mad. I know Gedo is all about long term storytelling, but that was already four years in the making. If it didn't happen then, it wasn't ever going to. That's why this one doesn't seem as disappointing to me. I totally get the frustrations. I was certain Naito was beating Okada then too. But then later we learned about the record breaking business that was being done at the same time with Okada on top, and it makes sense that they’d keep that ship floating longer. So it’s not so much NJPW did anything wrong so much as it seems like they played it safe rather than risk bucking that trend. We also can’t really point to any metrics that show they failed by eschewing that route. I get that Okada is big business. Whatever my issues with him are, I won't deny his box office impact. My thing is that he doesn't exactly need to be the champion for that to be the case. They split their major shows into multiple nights anyway. He could headline one even if he wasn't champion.
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Post by Starshine on Aug 12, 2019 19:17:23 GMT -5
I'm not booking, so I can't answer that. But IIRC the shows headlined with Okada were doing notably better than those that weren't. Maybe they just thought Omega was the better bet, and instead of using Naito to transition the belt, decided to keep that money train a-running. The most simple answer is he was not willing to get off the Okada train just yet. In that decision it hindered Naito and his story since it was a multi year journey that was supposed to culminate in him being victor but Gedo had other ideas. Omega wasn't ready at WK beforehand and it seems Gedo wasn't letting anything get in the way of the Okada reign he wanted When they got AJ he pushed pause on Okada in terms of long term champ. Then when Naito got white hot he couldn't ignore him and have him lose so he got a 60 day run. This time everything he wanted to do, he did Well Okada had been champion for over a year by that point, so it didn't seem like they really dropped any major plans. But he also wasn't doing the same business that 2017 Okada was. I also believe that fast tracking Styles to the top was done more in mind of creating a new reliable main event heel foil in lieu of Devitt leaving, or possibly to literally take his place in their original long term plans.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2019 19:47:02 GMT -5
In general Okada is someone where I generally like his matches and I recognize he's super talented but I would never call myself a fan or go out of my way specifically to watch him.
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Dub H
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Post by Dub H on Aug 12, 2019 19:56:06 GMT -5
So I didn't know properly who Shibata was.
But dayum,he has some great leg offense,his kicks and leg drops are straight of Anime. And I wouldnt be surprised if KENTA becomes the first Japanese leader of Bullet Club eventually.
The "gaijin" leader of bullet club is kinda stale at this point if I get the reactions correctly.A different type of "Outsider" would be really nice in the lead.
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Post by AwamoriRock on Aug 12, 2019 20:07:01 GMT -5
So I didn't know properly who Shibata was. I'm pretty far from an Okada fan but if you haven't seen it and are new to Shibata I highly recommend Okada vs. Shibata at Sakura Genesis (2017 I think). It's Okada at his best and as sad as the aftermath makes it, Shibata wrestling like he knows he isn't getting another chance.
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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Aug 12, 2019 20:10:12 GMT -5
So I didn't know properly who Shibata was. I'm pretty far from an Okada fan but if you haven't seen it and are new to Shibata I highly recommend Okada vs. Shibata at Sakura Genesis (2017 I think). It's Okada at his best and as sad as the aftermath makes it, Shibata wrestling like he knows he isn't getting another chance. That was the moment we all thought Shibata could do it and finally reaching that point where he was going to be a consistent main eventer or getting shots at it but the years of his own craziness caught up to him Would say he should also watch the Ishii/Shibata match too which is classic NEVER title match wrestling
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Convoy
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Post by Convoy on Aug 12, 2019 20:23:56 GMT -5
In general Okada is someone where I generally like his matches and I recognize he's super talented but I would never call myself a fan or go out of my way specifically to watch him. This is exactly how I feel. As much as he's lost a step, Tanahashi is still better at exuding that extra something and bringing diversity to main event matches.
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on Aug 12, 2019 21:00:20 GMT -5
Just finished the finals!
f*** I lost my mind when Shibata came out and laid out KENTA. That and the Tana/Ospreys match were my two biggest mark outs in the tournament. I almost woke up a sleeping toddler when Osprey won
I thought for sure White was winning with his backstory with Okada. Pleasant surprise, and a hell of a match.
What a f***ing tournament.
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Post by corndog on Aug 12, 2019 21:04:11 GMT -5
Gedo, I'll make a deal with you. Give me Singo vs Ishii at Royal Quest, and I'll forgive you for not giving Naito the G1.
I will forgive him if we get Shibata back against KENTA at Wrestle Kingdom. I miss Shibata so much and just having him back will fill the void of Naito being booked like a gatekeeper.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2019 21:07:11 GMT -5
I thought it was really cool to see KENTA join Bullet Club and then it got even cooler when Shibata came out. Good stuff there!
Quite the awesome final, too!
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Aug 12, 2019 21:14:42 GMT -5
Press conference being held soon
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Post by corndog on Aug 12, 2019 21:20:34 GMT -5
I thought it was really cool to see KENTA join Bullet Club and then it got even cooler when Shibata came out. Good stuff there! Quite the awesome final, too! KENTA joining Bullet Club makes a lot of sense. The fans weren't embracing him along with the other wrestlers calling him an outsider, he was showing his frustration later in the tournament. At the same time, Bullet Club needs a gatekeeper for Jay White that can actually do the workload.
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Post by Cyno on Aug 12, 2019 21:40:01 GMT -5
KENTA is a nice fit for Bullet Club because he fits that outsider role that Bullet Club in its prime really embraces while still being Japanese. It says he associates more with the gaijin who are fellow outsiders.
Granted this is an ironic thing calling them an outsider stable with both Jado and Gedo involved with Bullet Club in kayfabe lol.
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JoDaNa1281
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Post by JoDaNa1281 on Aug 12, 2019 22:13:28 GMT -5
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ronin705
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Post by ronin705 on Aug 12, 2019 22:51:38 GMT -5
I REALLY want this to mean Shibata's back, in some part time form, but i refuse to get my hopes up.
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Convoy
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Post by Convoy on Aug 12, 2019 23:00:29 GMT -5
KENTA is right though. Ibushi won the G1, but everyone is talking about his defection to Bullet Club. He got the spotlight he wanted.
Props to Shibata for mocking KENTA's botching though with "don't fall when you try to kick my head...". That was great, and it really makes me think he's coming back.
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EZ: Brainy Bae
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Post by EZ: Brainy Bae on Aug 12, 2019 23:22:52 GMT -5
Ibushi/White is my MOTY. Hard to top a good old-fashioned Good vs Evil story when it has wrestlers of this caliber.
But man ... that Shibata angle is one of the best things I've ever seen. Goosebumps.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Aug 13, 2019 0:59:23 GMT -5
So I didn't know properly who Shibata was. But dayum,he has some great leg offense,his kicks and leg drops are straight of Anime. And I wouldnt be surprised if KENTA becomes the first Japanese leader of Bullet Club eventually. The "gaijin" leader of bullet club is kinda stale at this point if I get the reactions correctly.A different type of "Outsider" would be really nice in the lead. Long story short, Shibata is someone who came up at the same time as Tanahashi and Nakamura, but went to go focus on MMA, leading to Tanahashi to basically say Shibata turned his back on NJPW when they needed him. He returned, and Tanahashi would again criticize Shibata for his embracing Strong Style, saying he didn't see a future in it, that it was too dangerous. It was unfortunately correct on Tanahashi's part, and Shibata's headbutts nearly crippled him, and he's been on the shelf since. Hopefully, he is back, but we don't really know his health status. Clearly good enough for them to be comfortable letting him put over KENTA here, so that's promising. In general, think a guy with a style that has a lot of strikes and martial arts who was a fan favorite but hadn't reached full-on top guy status, but grazed it from time to time, especially near the end, so if he does return and is physically up for it, he would probably walk right into the top tier.
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Post by Duke Cameron on Aug 13, 2019 1:28:04 GMT -5
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Post by BRAINFADE on Aug 13, 2019 1:33:53 GMT -5
Card has been announced for Royal Quest. The top three matches are Okada vs. Suzuki for the IWGP title, ZSJ vs. Tanahashi for the RevPro British title, and Ishii vs. KENTA for the NEVER title.
It's like they booked the NEVER title match specifically for me- two of my all time favourite wrestlers one on one for (I think) the first time ever!
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