Jericho vs Omega bored me

[Pierre the Renaissance Man]

I just finished watching the Wrestle Kingdom match and I just couldn’t get into it. The crowd sounded dead for most of it. That’s part of the reason I didn’t think it was that good. Please try to tell me what I’m missing.

[Feargus McReddit]

Just to ask, was this the first Japanese match you’ve watched?

Mostly because crowds there have always a tendency to not react the same way as American crowds in that they react at higher spots but not for others out of respect.

[Pierre the Renaissance Man]

I watched the Omega vs Okada match from Wrestle Kingdom last year and felt the same way. That one I watched off of YouTube with some weird camera work so I couldn’t get into that much either. Besides that match, I’ve seen a few death matches from Japan here and there but really nothing else.

[Feargus McReddit]

Like, if you’re used to American crowds, it’s understandable and I wasn’t judging you for it because, well, it can be off putting without context of the crowd not reacting to everything. The other ways to tell, which was really loud, were the occasional shouts of fans for their favourites. Like there was one woman shouting “KENNY” that was so loud, it became a big part of the match with Jericho shouting to her.

For me, when I watched it, the crowd reacted to the really important bits and that’s a better judge, really. Just my view, though.

[adamclark52]

It was a good match but not the “be all end all” some are making it out to be.

The best match I saw from the show was the Minoru Suzuki one.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

I haven't seen it yet. A friend told me it was awesome, but his tastes have a spotty record when it comes to matching mine.

As for the Okada match, it didn't bore me. It held my attention and I didn't fall asleep. But I didn't think it was the best New Japan match I've seen on AXS, let alone the best of all time.

[corndog]

Jan 13, 2018 11:48:37 GMT -5 adamclark52 said:

It was a good match but not the “be all end all” some are making it out to be.

The best match I saw from the show was the Minoru Suzuki one.

I agree, Jericho/Omega exceeded my expectations mainly because it was the best in ring work I have seen from Jericho in a long time. But it is not the greatest thing since sliced bread and I agree Suzuki/Goto was better. I think most of the New Japan fans love this match so much because people were not predicting this match to be anything close to great and it actually was. But five stars, watching the Tokyo Dome explode, not quite.

[HMARK Center]

It really also does matter to watch matches with context included, both the cultural context (e.g. Japanese crowds having a very different approach to watching pro wrestling than western audience) and the contexts of Japanese match storytelling, psychology, and the the way their feuds tend to be built. Just watching the matches in isolation may get across how impressive the athleticism and physicality are, but it won't get across what can make a match in the puro context transcendent or special.

[Pierre the Renaissance Man]

Jan 13, 2018 14:03:09 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

It really also does matter to watch matches with context included, both the cultural context (e.g. Japanese crowds having a very different approach to watching pro wrestling than western audience) and the contexts of Japanese match storytelling, psychology, and the the way their feuds tend to be built. Just watching the matches in isolation may get across how impressive the athleticism and physicality are, but it won't get across what can make a match in the puro context transcendent or special.

I watched it on the AXS channel so I did have some context to the actual feud. I felt that was well done. It was a solid match but nothing I could see myself watching again. It just didn’t pull me in for whatever reason.

[bootytea]

You don't need people to change your mind, you're entitled to your opinion. It's a hard style to get into if you're not used to it.

I've tried getting into NJPW, but the atmosphere and matches themselves bore me sometimes. Doesn't help that I haven't watched the build for a lot of the matches so I sometimes can't connect with the performers.I could watch more NJPW, but I try to watch Smackdown, MAYBE RAW and keep it at that as I don't wanna spend so much time watching wrestling.

Another thing that turns me off a lot from watching matches like Omega/Naito is how people hype it to be the greatest thing on earth which will more than likely result in me being disappointed. For instance, when I decided to watch the Bret/Austin Survivor Series encounter because of how great I heard the match was, I ended up feeling so let down.

[HMARK Center]

Jan 13, 2018 14:24:56 GMT -5 bootytea said:

You don't need people to change your mind, you're entitled to your opinion. It's a hard style to get into if you're not used to it.

I've tried getting into NJPW, but the atmosphere and matches themselves bore me sometimes. Doesn't help that I haven't watched the build for a lot of the matches so I sometimes can't connect with the performers.I could watch more NJPW, but I try to watch Smackdown, MAYBE RAW and keep it at that as I don't wanna spend so much time watching wrestling.

Another thing that turns me off a lot from watching matches like Omega/Naito is how people hype it to be the greatest thing on earth which will more than likely result in me being disappointed. For instance, when I decided to watch the Bret/Austin Survivor Series encounter because of how great I heard the match was, I ended up feeling so let down.

That last part becomes inevitable in pro wrestling: there's almost no way any wrestling match can ever match the hype that it gets if you've heard about it from others before seeing it.

I thought Omega/Naito at G1 26 was epic, and this year's G1 encounter was nearly as good; but I also regularly watch NJPW and keep tabs on the stuff the wrestlers are saying/doing leading into their matches, so I'm already primed to be hyped for the outcome of the match. Without that added stuff it's hard to be as into it, because even if the action is great there's just so much less investment in the outcome and less priming being done with your expectations beyond somebody online saying "greatest thing ever!".

[Big Poppa Pumpkin]

If you're not into it, you're not into it. You're not 'missing' anything, I say that as someone who loved the match and greatly enjoys New Japan in general. It's not to everybody's taste and that's just how things are.

[TGM]

I loved it, it was really simple yet very violent. It felt like a real fight and Jericho repeatedly smashing Kennys head into the corner chair added to that. It's also the first time in a long time I've enjoyed crowd brawling.

[Instant Classic]

It was the first NJPW match I ever saw and I liked it.

[honsou]

The crowd dead thing is a mix of Japanese crowds can be kinda quiet sometimes (especially early) and that the Dome doesn't carry sound very well so if you can hear the crowd at all it means the match is molten lava hot.

I really liked the match and would go as far as to say it was one of the top matches on the card but wrestling is an art and that means there is no objective right or wrong here

[AwamoriRock]

Jan 13, 2018 10:34:10 GMT -5 Pierre the Renaissance Man said:

I just finished watching the Wrestle Kingdom match and I just couldn’t get into it. The crowd sounded dead for most of it. That’s part of the reason I didn’t think it was that good. Please try to tell me what I’m missing.

There's no reason to force yourself, to be honest I was there live and have been off the grid a bit because I didn't enjoy the booking of the show, so I didn't know the match was being hyped or anything--if you're going off Meltzer you have to realize he will give any Omega or Elite match the minimum of a MOTYC recommendation (honestly it wasn't even the best match on the show imo). I think if you want to try and wade into NJPW waters, this year's G1 has a lot of good matches or at least an offering of what to the company can do. You might be a little lost in terms of background/storytelling between some wrestlers, but it's a good introduction to them.

[Deleted]

If you didn't like it that much, that's okay. Nothing says you can't like another match on the same show better. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. Nobody should ever have to explain why you should like something.

[AwamoriRock]

Jan 13, 2018 14:24:56 GMT -5 bootytea said:

You don't need people to change your mind, you're entitled to your opinion. It's a hard style to get into if you're not used to it.

I've tried getting into NJPW, but the atmosphere and matches themselves bore me sometimes. Doesn't help that I haven't watched the build for a lot of the matches so I sometimes can't connect with the performers.I could watch more NJPW, but I try to watch Smackdown, MAYBE RAW and keep it at that as I don't wanna spend so much time watching wrestling.

Another thing that turns me off a lot from watching matches like Omega/Naito is how people hype it to be the greatest thing on earth which will more than likely result in me being disappointed. For instance, when I decided to watch the Bret/Austin Survivor Series encounter because of how great I heard the match was, I ended up feeling so let down.

That's cool. I'd say that something like Omega/Jericho is pretty random and not that deep in storytelling, but something like Naito/Omega suffers without exposure to the storytelling/background that set up the match--not saying you weren't aware of it going in, but I felt it was a big reason I really enjoyed it.

[bootytea]

Jan 13, 2018 18:41:33 GMT -5 AwamoriRock said:

Jan 13, 2018 14:24:56 GMT -5 bootytea said:

You don't need people to change your mind, you're entitled to your opinion. It's a hard style to get into if you're not used to it.

I've tried getting into NJPW, but the atmosphere and matches themselves bore me sometimes. Doesn't help that I haven't watched the build for a lot of the matches so I sometimes can't connect with the performers.I could watch more NJPW, but I try to watch Smackdown, MAYBE RAW and keep it at that as I don't wanna spend so much time watching wrestling.

Another thing that turns me off a lot from watching matches like Omega/Naito is how people hype it to be the greatest thing on earth which will more than likely result in me being disappointed. For instance, when I decided to watch the Bret/Austin Survivor Series encounter because of how great I heard the match was, I ended up feeling so let down.

That's cool. I'd say that something like Omega/Jericho is pretty random and not that deep in storytelling, but something like Naito/Omega suffers without exposure to the storytelling/background that set up the match--not saying you weren't aware of it going in, but I felt it was a big reason I really enjoyed it.

I've yet to see Naito/Omega because I'm afraid it won't live up to the hype, but if I do I will definitely take that advice.

The one thing I like about the few NJPW matches I've seen is that they aren't as formulaic, or at least it appears that way because I haven't seen many, which is a big reason I loved watching WCW matches in the 90's. 

[chazraps]

Jan 13, 2018 10:34:10 GMT -5 Pierre the Renaissance Man said:

I just finished watching the Wrestle Kingdom match and I just couldn’t get into it. The crowd sounded dead for most of it. That’s part of the reason I didn’t think it was that good. Please try to tell me what I’m missing.

Maybe the issue is with your audio set-up or a poorly sourced copy?

It's the Tokyo Dome, it's not dead.