Steveweiser
Dalek
Mickie Mickie You're So Fine... Hey Mickie!
THE GRAPS
Posts: 50,249
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Post by Steveweiser on Sept 19, 2012 18:51:05 GMT -5
The WWE fans of today would have to be heavily educated about The Great Muta and what he meant, although they have his WCW matches, so they could just run those.
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Phil Parent
El Dandy
Your Favourite Teacher
Posts: 8,508
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Post by Phil Parent on Sept 19, 2012 20:30:19 GMT -5
The Observer makes it sound like Vince sort-of bought them or is now otherwise bankrolling them in some way.
Johnny Ace knows the company inside out, or at least did.
For those who are talking about their tape library, I do believe it's not ENTIRELY theirs. In Japan, the TV stations own a lot of what they air, I do believe.
This is symptomatic that WWE is not doing so good, by the way, look at history. They enter these kind of deals with international partners when business is sagging. IMO, this means that the 'E is eyeing a permanent presence in Japan to fight New Japan.
Now, New Japan is an entirely different beast than TNA is (MUCH stronger in its territory) or WCW was (MUCH better ran). New Japan has a lot of the wrestlers the Japanese fans want to see, and the means to get those they want to see on their show. They recently brought in Sakuraba, for f***'s sake. NOAH is on its death bed and if I had to wager, New Japan is gonna land Akiyama and Shiozaki and Morishima and KENTA and Marufuji when NOAH croaks, because they have the cash to do it and AJPW doesn't.
Although I'll give All Japan credit for one thing: Masakatsu Funaki was a brilliant idea, he must have been hard to convince and must of cost a SHITLOAD of money.
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The Heenan Family
Unicron
I'm a legend in this sport. If you don't believe me, ask me.
Posts: 2,569
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Post by The Heenan Family on Sept 19, 2012 21:14:42 GMT -5
2013 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Shohei Baba.
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Post by DZ: WF Legacy on Sept 19, 2012 21:22:21 GMT -5
Lord Tensai can finally return to his home planet of Japan.
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Post by Digital Witness on Sept 19, 2012 21:26:03 GMT -5
2013 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Shohei Baba. Who would they have induct Baba? A modern giant with good English speaking skills like The Big Show? A English speaking ex AJPW wrestler like Johnny Ace? Do they attempt to get Inoki to do it? Baba does deserve it if that option is on the table. As for educating the fans on The Great Muta/Keiji Mutoh, I'm sure Kevin Dunn and Co. could whip up a couple EPIC video packages to do that. I think it would be wise to maybe pair Muta up with Paul Heyman, similar to how he was paired with Gary Hart early in his NWA/WCW career to sell just how dangerous Muta is. After all, it seems that Heyman won't align himself with just anyone these days. I think Paul Heyman could sell Muta as death incarnate even before he arrives. Once Muta shows up, sell the mist and the shining wizard as absolutely lethal. Give Muta the epic theatrical entrance and attire that he's known for, and the WWE universe won't have any choice but to be enthralled. I don't know how fluent Mutoh is in English, but he's the type of worker that doesn't have to touch a mic to get over. Of course with the idea of Baba in the Hall of Fame, Mutoh/Muta should also be a definite lock as well considering his position in All Japan and his career. As far as the hall of fame goes, I think this also opens it up to guys like Hansen, Tsuruta, Williams, Gordy, and maybe even Misawa in the future.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 21:38:11 GMT -5
Maybe it means Yoshi will get to wrestle again on Raw someday. Or its AJPW counterpart, Waw.
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Knailsic From Now On
Dennis Stamp
Loneliest Number Since #1
Waiting with my red eyes and my stone heart
Posts: 4,365
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Post by Knailsic From Now On on Sept 19, 2012 22:33:15 GMT -5
This could be really awesome.
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Post by Sparvid on Sept 19, 2012 22:42:42 GMT -5
Heath Slater gets sent to AJPW, comes back as the One Man Visual Kei.
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Post by kamotengkahoy on Sept 20, 2012 0:17:51 GMT -5
Taker vs Muta and if they can Taker/Kane vs Muta/Sting please
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Post by Digital Witness on Sept 20, 2012 1:26:48 GMT -5
Taker vs Muta and if they can Taker/Kane vs Muta/Sting please I thought about the Muta/Sting thing and was a bit curious how to make that happen and relevant in today's WWE. I didn't even consider the Brothers of Destruction involved in that. My only problem, is what would Sting have to gain from facing Taker and Kane, and for that matter, what stakes would Muta have in fighting them? That's why I had the idea of Taker going after Punk and Heyman enlisting the supernatural big bad of the orient to take Undertaker out. However, I can't see Sting playing a heel in this. More importantly, I can't really see Sting and Muta just saying hey... you're legends, we're legends, lets fight. Also, if you bring Muta in as the mysterious bad ass killer type that he should be if he's the Great Muta and not Keiji Mutoh, then Sting probably wouldn't want anything to do with Muta in general. Keep in mind I'm thinking 1996 super evil Muta, and not the guy Sting teamed with 4 years prior. It just seems natural to me that at least as a mania match, we get Taker/Sting vs Kane/Muta. We could always get Taker vs Sting at another time after they team up. This also frees up Kane to take the fall. Neither Sting nor Muta have to do the job, and Taker's undefeated mania streak stays in tact while the good guys win and the crowd goes home happy.
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Sin Cara Tres
Don Corleone
Funkasaurus Designs Incorporated
We Are Many. You Are One.
Posts: 1,631
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Post by Sin Cara Tres on Sept 20, 2012 1:37:48 GMT -5
Regarding Baba in HOF and classic TV footage, they'd have to work out separate deals for those. I think NTV owns the rights to classic AJ tapes, they don't air AJ currently. Giant Baba's image hasn't been associated with the promotion since Mrs. Baba sold it. Literally, his picture was on the entrance curtain and it disappeared once she was gone and the promotion changed from Royal Road to Pro Wres LOVE.
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Post by Andy Martin on Sept 20, 2012 2:54:11 GMT -5
He hasn't been in All Japan for ages, he moved back to New Brunswick. AJ is ahead of NOAH. All Japan has it's up and downs but people pay attention when they make noise. NOAH is just NOAH. As much as I'd like this to happen, this rumor probably comes from Nash working All Japan since he's under a WWE Legends deal. A New Japan deal would make more sense. Their owner (Bushi Road) just sponsored WWE shows in Japan, their roster is more suited for WWE and they're the biggest promotion. Although, they sort of seem like they want to challenge WWE and gain popularity outside of Japan. I saw Dupree in Kent a few months ago, he did a job for a local wrestler. New Japan are indeed attempting to be a competitor rather than work with WWE - they've just secured a deal for English language programming. One of my friends is doing the commentary for it. NJPW with English commentary? Details?
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Post by RadcapRadsley on Sept 20, 2012 3:24:43 GMT -5
WWE is overdue to finally really push a Japanese star.
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Steveweiser
Dalek
Mickie Mickie You're So Fine... Hey Mickie!
THE GRAPS
Posts: 50,249
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Post by Steveweiser on Sept 20, 2012 5:10:08 GMT -5
I saw Dupree in Kent a few months ago, he did a job for a local wrestler. New Japan are indeed attempting to be a competitor rather than work with WWE - they've just secured a deal for English language programming. One of my friends is doing the commentary for it. NJPW with English commentary? Details? Not sure exactly where it will show up, but English commentary is being recorded for their matches.
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Steveweiser
Dalek
Mickie Mickie You're So Fine... Hey Mickie!
THE GRAPS
Posts: 50,249
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Post by Steveweiser on Sept 20, 2012 6:01:35 GMT -5
Dave Meltzer said on Observer Radio there's nothing major to the story - Kaz Hayashi pitched to John Laurinaitis that All Japan should be a WWE developmental territory, and all of it is just talk.
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hitch
Don Corleone
Hitch knot
Posts: 1,696
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Post by hitch on Sept 20, 2012 6:40:46 GMT -5
Every few years Vince announces link up with a Japanese wrestling company only for nothing to happen. I believe they announced that WM9 would be a cross-promotion of sorts featuring talent from both sides. Look what happened there.
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suben
Bubba Ho-Tep
Sailing Jump!
Posts: 617
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Post by suben on Sept 20, 2012 14:10:07 GMT -5
Dave Meltzer said on Observer Radio there's nothing major to the story - Kaz Hayashi pitched to John Laurinaitis that All Japan should be a WWE developmental territory, and all of it is just talk. It's SLIGHTLY more than that: So it's not some big thing like tape libraries (which TVN has for the glory days anyway) or some full scale invasion or WWE/AJPW co-promoted events but AJPW becoming a developmental for the WWE.
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Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Sept 20, 2012 14:18:23 GMT -5
I seriously doubt anything will happen with it. I remember a similar deal was talked about in 2006/2007 with I think NJPW and nothing came of it. Also, AJPW sure would be a weird choice for WWE to work with. NJPW and NOAH are both way better promotions currently than AJPW.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2012 14:22:34 GMT -5
Dave Meltzer said on Observer Radio there's nothing major to the story - Kaz Hayashi pitched to John Laurinaitis that All Japan should be a WWE developmental territory, and all of it is just talk. It's SLIGHTLY more than that: So it's not some big thing like tape libraries (which TVN has for the glory days anyway) or some full scale invasion or WWE/AJPW co-promoted events but AJPW becoming a developmental for the WWE. What's the "slightly more" info? It says exactly what Steveweiser posted, only using more words.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2012 14:53:22 GMT -5
I seriously doubt anything will happen with it. I remember a similar deal was talked about in 2006/2007 with I think NJPW and nothing came of it. Also, AJPW sure would be a weird choice for WWE to work with. NJPW and NOAH are both way better promotions currently than AJPW. NOAH is on death's door at the moment. Been like that since 2007. AJPW has been making a rally of late, probably is the no.2 promotion in Japan at the moment, with Dragon Gate third.
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